


Haunted

by Fleppy85



Category: CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-30
Updated: 2020-06-30
Packaged: 2021-03-03 20:00:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 40,536
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24991189
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fleppy85/pseuds/Fleppy85
Summary: Sara gets called to a body that was found in a haunted house. Apparently a ghost killed the man, she doesn't believe it, but can't find any evidence of a killer. And then there's a second victim and even more stories about ghosts.
Relationships: Sofia Curtis/Sara Sidle
Kudos: 2





	Haunted

Wednesday night

Sorry, we are short-handed. That was all Grissom had said when he gave Sara the information about her new case. A 419 in a house far outside the city, almost in the desert. How was she supposed to process a whole house alone?   
With less enthusiasm she arrived at the address. An old house, she guessed around hundred years old. Solid wooden walls, the windows dirty, the garden savage. The houses and its surroundings needed a good clean up.   
Waiting for her in the hallway was the smuggest of all detectives: Sofia Curtis. Sometimes cases couldn’t get worse.  
“DB is upstairs, first room, left side.” The houses looked old and dirty from the outside, it was worse in the inside. Everything was covered in dust, everything looked broken. At least the hallway, the place Sara saw.  
“Thanks.” Sara walked up the stairs. Under each of her steps the wooden steps made a sound like they wanted to break and pull her down in more dust and dirt. Old portraits on the wall of people who looked like they died centuries ago, watched each of her steps.   
The first room on the left side was a bedroom. The bed, probably the same age like the house, looked unused. The body in front of it looks – like an ordinary body. Except for the fact that Sara couldn’t see any wound or cause of death.  
She crawled down to the man. She guessed, he was in his forties. No gunshot wound, no signs of strangulation, no stab wounds. He looked like he was sleeping. Beside one thing: his face. His eyes were wide open, they were brown and looked like he was scared. Well, somebody killed him; he had all reasons to be scared.   
“Scary, isn’t it?”  
Sara jumped a little bit.  
“Why don’t you make some noise when you walk up the stairs?”  
“I did. You didn’t pay attention.” Sofia leaned at the door, watching Sara.   
“I can’t find a COD.”  
“I had the same problem.”  
“Did you sneak around the crime scene, detective?”  
“Wanna tell me off for that, investigator?” Sofia looked amused.  
“No, not really. Did you call David?”  
“He arrived a minute ago.” Sofia came next to Sara, took a look at the dead man. “Scary.”  
“It looks like he was scared when he died. I guess everybody is scared when they die.”  
“For some it’s a salvation.” Sofia took a look around. “You think he lived here?”  
“I don’t know, the smart detective usually gives me information like this.” Sara raised an eyebrow and grinned. Okay she couldn’t work with Jim but Sofia was the second best pick. At least when she was annoying and smug and Sara was in the have the blonde around.   
“Stop picking on me, Sidle.” Sofia got up. “I’ll leave you alone and get some information. There’s an officer outside for your protection.”  
“I feel safe, thanks.”  
Sofia met David when she left the room.  
“Sorry Sara, we are kind of busy.”  
“That’s why Gris sent me here alone.”   
“Yeah, I’ll get your man and leave asap to Cath’s scene…he looks scared.”  
“That’s why I thought. Even weirder than the impression on his face, I can’t find a COD.”  
David checked the body. “No wounds, no signs of strangulation. Maybe some interior bleedings.” He took the liver temperature. “He’s been dead for a longer time, rigor is gone, I’d guess, two or three days. Thanks god it has been cold, otherwise he’d look different…it is very cold in here, colder than outside.”  
“We lost twenty degrees since yesterday, I think that’s why everybody thinks it’s cold.”  
“It’s colder in here than outside…what was the address again?”  
“4514 Malcon Ave. Why?”  
“The Dead House.”  
“What?”  
“The Dead House. Never heard of it?”  
“Obviously not.”  
“4514 if you count the letters of the alphabet by numbers, you’ll get D, E, A, D for 4514.”  
“I’m sure this number exists quite often in America. You can make a lot of words with house numbers.”  
“Maybe it has a meaning.”  
“Yeah, you celebrated Halloween too much.”  
“Every tale has its truth. Can I get him out?”  
“Yeah.” Sara took some photos and concentrated on the room. Nothing looked touched. Not when she saw the amount of dust everywhere.   
A dump place? Possible. It didn’t look like somebody was living here.   
“Do you know if anybody lives here?” Sara asked when she heard something. Sofia had to be back.   
No answer. Sara turned around, found nobody. An old house, a house made of wood, wood was living, moving, making sounds all the time. She tried to get some fingerprints from the door handle, but nothing was there. There was not that must dust on the outside of the door, somebody must have open it recently. Sofia, for example and the detective was smart enough not to touch anything without gloves. A killer who wasn’t completely dumb would have done the same.   
Time to have a look around the house, to look if there were traces of a B & E.   
The officer wasn’t at the front door when Sara walked downstairs, he could be walking around the garden. Who would come to this place anyway? They were in the middle of nowhere; the next street with transit traffic was ten miles away. Whoever drove to this place drove here to be here and not because they got lost or were driving around. This was the end of the street, the end of the world, if you wanted.   
Next to the hallway was a living room. The leather three – piece suite was covered in dust. No signs of anybody being in here the last months. She walked in the next room, the kitchen. Like the rooms before, there was a lot of dust and no signs of anybody living and using this place. She opened the fridge. Nothing inside. It wasn’t running, same for the light she tried to turn on. Was there any electricity at all in this house? She had to work with the flashlight and the little bit of sunshine that came through the windows.   
The last room got her attention. The library. On three of the four walls were shelves full of books from the floor up to the ceiling. The fourth wall, the one with the door, had a chimney. A huge candelabra with actual candles on it, hung in the middle of the room.   
“The next neighbors are two miles down the street.” This time Sara had heard Sofia coming in the room.   
“Some people love to live quiet.”  
“A relative of you?”  
“Fuck you.”  
“I leave that to other people, I don’t avoid them.” Sofia answered dryly to Sara’s assault. Their relationship wasn’t as bad as it used to be but most of the times the brunette didn’t share the humor of the blonde and got snappy easy. Sometimes they started to fight, sometimes they concentrate on their job and let sentences like the ones before, go past without mentioning it later. Usually it worked like here, Sofia said something (on purpose) that pisses Sara off, Sara shot an insult to the blonde and the blonde answered it the same way she said the sentence that pisses Sara off. You couldn’t call it a friendship but Sofia knew, none of them was really insulted by this things. And it kept them from building up steam and blowing up; what did happen before.   
“Do you job and give me some information regarding to the case, Curtis.”  
“As I said, the next neighbors live two miles down the street. Two houses, ten people. None of them could tell me who owned the house, it has been empty for a couple of years.”  
“The last two or three days it wasn’t empty.”  
“It should have been.”  
“Who found the body?”  
“That’s a strange story. One of the men living down the street comes here every morning and every evening for a run. When he came up here last night, he saw a light and – I quote him on that – a kind of face in the room upstairs. Knowing the house was empty, he called 911, they sent a black and white over and they found the body. There was no sign of a B & E, no signs of anybody ever been in the house, only the body. The man said, he never stopped running, after he saw the light and the face, he started running faster, scared to death.”  
“He’s scared easily.”  
“He knows about the house.”  
“Knows what about the house?”  
“4514.”  
“Dead. You were at the same Halloween party like Super-Dave?”  
“They all told me, the house is cursed and there’s a ghost living in here.”  
“Really? Is his name Casper?”  
“They were serious, Sidle.”  
“That makes me serious – serious wonder why people believe everything.”  
“This is a creepy place, it’s cold, and I feel like somebody is watching me and like I’m not alone.”  
“You are not, I’m here.”  
“Beside you.”  
“There should be an officer somewhere.”  
“He had to leave, accident on the highway, he was the closed unit. I’m the one who has to serve and protect you.”  
“Great, that’s like asking for watch dog and getting Scooby Doo.” Sara turned and walked out of the room. She didn’t need a cop around anyway. Nobody would come here and with this ridiculous curse hanging over the house it was even less likely somebody showed up. Ghost and curses. Why did people believe in stupid fantasy things like that? All the bodies she had seen so far – and she had seen way too many – were killed by human. She had never looked for a ghost. As far as she knew they didn’t leave fingerprints and DNA.   
With her flashlight she left the house and stepped in the garden. Maybe there were some signs of a B & E here.   
“Will you stop?” Sofia’s voice was angry when she followed Sara.  
“What? I’m doing my job.”  
“You’re more than welcome to do your job but would you please let me do mine? If you wander off, tell me. I meant it, there are no officers around.”  
“There’ll be nobody around than us.”  
“You never know.”  
“Whatever. I’m just looking for any signs of a B & E. There was nothing at the front door, whoever brought the body in the house needed to enter it somehow. Having a body with you makes things more difficult.”  
“You think it’s a dump?”  
“Makes sense to me. The house is empty like you said, the perfect place to hide a body.”  
“Why leaving it in a the bedroom of an empty house?”  
“Why not? It doesn’t matter where you leave it, nobody is in here and even if anybody looks through one of the windows, the bedroom is in the upper level, nobody will see the body. That gives you plenty of time to cover your tracks.”  
“He died without a COD.”  
“A visible COD. Interior injuries.”  
“His face looked like he was scared to death.”  
“Okay.” Sara stopped, sighed and looked at Sofia. “Would you please stop with your ghost stories? I’ve always thought you’re a good cop and good CSI, don’t make me feel wrong about that. There’s no ghost flying around and killing people. Random people because this house was empty, there’re no signs of a B & E, which means, your ghost couldn’t have killed the man when he broke in. Nearly all cases of known curses and ghost stories are made up to keep people away, so that they don’t annoy you, that they don’t sneak around, that they don’t find out what is going on behind the walls. If I’d plan to do something illegal, I’d start the rumors of living in a cursed and haunted house to scare people away. Do you know who owns the place now?”  
“Now, I couldn’t find any data about that.”  
“Why don’t you find you?”  
“Because for that I need to leave the scene and I won’t do that until there’s another officer.”  
“I’ll be here.”  
“Sara, I’ve always thought you’re a good CSI, you know I can’t leave you alone.” Sofia used some of Sara’s words with a smile.  
“Alright, let’s go inside and get started.”  
“What started?”  
“Searching the place.” Sara opened her kit and gave Sofia some gloves.  
“What do you think you are doing?”  
“Taking you by your words, serve and protect. Standing around to protect the scene is boring, you’re not into standing around, so I’ll use the other opportunity you’ve got, serving. You can serve me as my CSI drone. We have a big house to search and if there’re any traces of a murder case or a body dump, we’ll find it. Move it.”  
“I’m not your drone.”  
“Serve and protect, you can be my partner in crime if that makes you feel better.” Sara walked back to the house, leaving a speechless Sofia behind. Even worse than understanding a case with ghosts was understanding Sara Sidle. And this woman was real. 

“You’ve got the Ghost Case!” Greg was by her side as soon as Sara entered the lab.  
“There are not such things like ghosts.” Apparently there was also no intelligence life on this planet. Ghost case. It was a Apparently there was also no intelligence life on this planet. Ghost case. It was a 419, not a ghost case. Was there a remake of ‘Ghostbusters’ in cinema she hadn’t heard of and everybody else loved to watch?   
“4514.”  
“That’s half of 9028 or twice of 257.”   
“You don’t take it serious.”  
“It’s a stupid house number.”  
“You’re victim was scared to death.”  
“Did Doc Robbins write that in his file?”  
“No…I mean…I don’t know…” Greg stopped. He would love to sneak around this case to find out what Sara and the coroner found out but he knew, he would get caught and Sara would be very angry.   
“Listen Greg, it was a body dump, simple like that. Sofia and me processed the whole house, there were no traces of ghosts.”  
“Sofia and you?”  
“We’re short-handed, she was there, after she spoke to the neighbors, who live two miles down the street and do like you guys believe in ghosts, she had some spare time. Her officers left the scene, so she had to stay there, to protect me. You know, in case a ghost comes along tries to kill me…she was there to shoot it.”  
“You can’t kill a ghost with a bullet, it will run through it.”  
“I told her she can go, I’d be fine. Beside the evil ghost nobody was around?”  
“An evil ghost?” Grissom came out of his office.  
“Yeah, somehow they all believe in ghosts. Could you tell them that’s bullshit?”  
“You never know, Sara. There are things the science can’t explain.”  
“Yeah, how adults can get messed up in stories for children.”  
“It’s all about fantasy and believe. Sometimes we have to believe things we can’t see.”  
“Whatever. I’ll have a look what doc Robbins says about my victim. Maybe he found some ghost…DNA…”  
“They don’t have blood.” Greg said.  
“Immaterial, no blood, sounds pretty non-existing to me, Greggo.” She grinned and walked to the autopsy room. It was probably good she was working this case alone. Not to imagine if Greg was with her. As much as she liked her young friend, he was too easily fascinated by stories. Like the one time he didn’t want her to cut a piece of carpet because it was a piece of Vegas history. Forty years old carpet was not a piece of history to her, it was a gathering place for bacteria and other things she didn’t want to think about.   
“Hey doc.”  
“Sara, you’re still alive and not killed by a ghost.”  
“Let me guess: David.”  
“The Ghost House.”  
“It’s only a number.”  
“And a curse and a lot of stories.”  
“Please don’t tell me you believe in it too.” Sara rolled her eyes. Was everybody crazy?   
“I can tell you some medical facts.”  
“Yes, please.”  
“Your man here died of a heart attack. It appears like he died of fear, what is possible…”  
“…if the heart is shocked by too much adrenaline that the body can release when scared. It’s likely to happen to elderly people, he isn’t that old. Did he have any heart conditions?”  
“Not that I found one so far, I’ll have a closer look and some tests later. It’s a busy night.”  
“I know. At least you didn’t tell me got killed by ghost hands.”  
“Maybe a ghost scared him to death.”  
“Or his mother-in-law appeared out of the blue.” Sara smirked and left the room. At least it looked like the victim died of a natural cause. 

Thursday afternoon

The good thing about her ghost house was that because of the missing electricity Sara could stay the rest of the night in the lab and go home on time. She wanted some sleep and a shower. She felt dirty after being in the old house for so long.   
“Good morning Perro, good morning Gata.” Sara greeted her cat and her dog, who were happy to see her. “Who wants a little run before I’ll take a shower and fall asleep?” Her dog took the invitation and only two minutes later they were running down the streets. The best thing after a night of work, taking the dog out for a run, getting the head free and tired to sleep deeply.   
Tired and breathless she came back to her apartment forty-five minutes later, fed her animals, got her shower and vanished in her bed without having breakfast.   
Deep and dreamless sleep for seven hours, a new record. With a smile on her face she started to cook some breakfast. An omelet filled with vegetables and because she was in a cooking mood, she also made some pizza; just in case she didn’t feel like cooking tomorrow.   
The doorbell rang the minute she was about to get all her food on the table.   
“Who the hell is it? It has better be good.” If there was anybody who wanted to convince her to a religion or stuff like that, she’d slam the door in their faces.   
“What do you want?” Sofia was like a religion or a cult.   
“Work with you.”  
“I’m off the clock.”  
“You’re on. They couldn’t get any electricity to the house, we need to go there or we’ll be there with flashlights again. Order from Grissom.”  
“Screw that.”  
“Your language is really nice at the moment, Sara.”  
“Cry me a river.” She turned and walked back in her apartment. Because she didn’t slam the door Sofia understood that as an offer to come in. She had hardly closed the door when a black and white dog showed up and greeted her.   
“Wham, who are you?”  
“Gata.”  
“Gata? You’re a lovely lady. What breed is she?”  
“A mixture of everything.” Sara was preparing her food. “Hungry?”  
“You invite me to eat with you or be your food?”  
“I’m a vegetarian I don’t eat humans – even when they’re annoying. I won’t leave until I’ve eaten because I’m starving and – believe it or not – I’m not that unkind that I won’t offer you something. Vegetarian omelet or pizza. Take it or leave it.”  
“Your mommy is really kind, Gata.”   
“You’ve to face her when you talk to her.”  
“Why? Am I rude if I don’t?”  
“No, but she won’t know what you say if she’s not looking at you. She’s deaf, she reads your lips.”  
“Your dog is deaf?”   
“Yes.”  
“How…?”  
“I don’t know, I got her from the animal shelter, somebody tried to drown her in a lake. Do you eat something?”  
“A little bit, thanks.” Sofia was confused. Sara and her moods, they’d kill her one day. The investigator was rude and pissed off the first moment, a minute later she was kind and offered Sofia some food. These mood changes were very tiring.   
“Have a seat.” Sara gestured to the table. When Sofia pulled a chair a shadow jumped.   
“Whoa.”   
“Did you see a ghost again?”  
“Very funny. I think I scared your cat.”  
“He’ll cope with that, won’t you, Perro?” The black cat came to Sara and rubbed his head on her leg.   
“Your cat is missing a leg and your dog is deaf.”  
“Perro is blind too. Thanks to his former owner.”  
“You took the pets from the shelter nobody else wanted?”  
“I was walking around one day, came along the shelter, got stuck at the gate, watching two dogs playing in a kennel. A woman saw me, talked to me, showed me around, told me about the shelter and at one point she mentioned, they’d kill the animals, that were there for a certain time and unlikely to get new owner. Gata and Perro were the next ones on the list, nobody wanted a deaf dog and blind cat with three legs. I thought, they had been through enough, killing them wasn’t fair. So I took them. Never regretted it.” She smiled when the cat jumped next to her on a chair.   
“Why do you call your cat dog and your dog cat?” Sofia was wondering about the dog’s name first, when Sara mentioned the name of the cat, she understood the names. The Spanish word of dog for the cat the Spanish word for cat for the dog.   
“Why not?”  
“I guess people look strange when you’re in the park and call your dog. All the Hispanics will think, you’re calling for a cat.”  
“No need to call her, she can’t hear me.” Sara sat down. “Take whatever you want.” She took a slice of pizza.   
“You’re amazing.”  
“Why?”  
“Well, first I thought you’d slam the door right in my face.”  
“Oh, I’d have love to, but I’ve to work with you. I figured it’s better to be a little bit friendly, you’ll be around me for the rest of the night, protect and serve.”  
“And there’s the bitch again.”  
“I call it being honest.”  
“You know you can hurt people sometimes when you tell them your honest feelings in their face.”  
“Not my problem.”  
“Why are you that...bitchy? Mean?”  
“I don’t want to nice to people I don’t like. I’ve to that to a certain point while I’m working, I don’t need that when I’m off. Like I don’t want to be surrounded by people who annoy me and ninety-nine percent of all people do annoy me. No need to spend time with them when I can spend time with my animals. Time is valuable and I don’t like to waste valuable things.”  
“So I’d feel honored that you asked me in.”  
“I never asked you in.”   
Sofia laughed. That was Sara. Dry and cold, always on the point, not trying to say something nice to please you.   
“I understood I’m welcome because you didn’t slam the door in my face, it wouldn’t have surprised me if you’d done so. But, only to make it clear, I’d have stayed and annoyed through the closed door. I don’t give up easily.”  
“That’s what I call a pain in the ass.”  
“I call it handling a challenge.”   
“I knew you’d stay, I knew you’d not go away. It’s kind of annoying, but on the other hand, I do like that. People give up to easily, they don’t care enough, a sign of not being really interested. When you’re interested in something, you fight to get it. It’s harder to fight, much easier to forget what you wanted to do and leave. You’re like a Terrier, you bite and won’t let go. Pretty important for a good detective and a good CSI.”  
“I think that’s the biggest compliment you’ve ever gave to me…even if it include calling me a little dog.”  
Sara raised an eyebrow but Sofia saw also a little smile on the brunette’s face, almost invisible. 

“You’re gonna freak out again because of ghosts, Curtis?” Sara closed the car door and walked to the house. Sofia had followed her in her car and was right behind Sara.   
“I guess I fear your moods more, Sidle.” The blonde smirked when she saw the upraised middle finger. Yes, they were back to old behavior.   
Sara unlocked the door and entered the house. Four hours of daylight were left, four hours they wanted to search the house. Two officers were in front of the house.  
“Anything happened in here?” Sara asked.   
“No, nothing.” One of them responded.  
“Looks like the ghost are sleeping…oh yes, midnight is ghost time, I forgot. I’m already dying of fear.” She threw an amused look at Sofia and stepped in the house.   
“Shut up, bitch.” Sofia grumbled.   
“You’re here to protect and serve not to whine and insult, detective.” A crack upstairs let both freeze in their movements. Sofia had her gun in her hands immediately and Sara back-up to let the blonde go first. There was a possible suspect upstairs, both women stopped their little game of insulting and teasing and became professionals right away. Keeping Sofia’s back clear Sara followed the detective to the second level. While the blonde opened the first door, the same room they found the body in, Sara made sure, nobody was in the corridor.   
Sofia’s eyes told Sara the first room was clear, so they moved on to the next one. Another bedroom, the master room. Sara had been in here yesterday, nothing seemed to be touched, neither the bedroom nor the little bathroom attached to it. Sofia checked both and came back, her head shacking. Also the other two rooms were empty.   
“Fuck that, you heard that too, didn’t you?” Sofia whispered.   
“I heard something, yes. It’s an old building, wood is working, you’re a little bit freak out.” She didn’t tell Sofia that she heard something like a step yesterday when she thought the blonde was back but she was still alone.   
“Cut through the shit, Sara, it sounded like somebody was bloody walking around here.”  
Sara looked at Sofia and grinned a little bit.  
“What?” The blonde asked in a mix of anger and nervousness.   
“I never heard you swearing like this while you were on duty.”  
“Sara!” Sofia got annoyed with the investigator.   
“Calm down. Yes, it sounded like somebody was walking around here, but as I said, it’s an old house, wood is working, hearing things like this are ordinary. You know that.”  
“I do.”  
“Good.” Sara took her kit. “I’ll take a closer look at the staircase, whoever brought the body upstairs had to use the stairs. Do you want to help me again?”  
“Later, I need to go to the neighbors again, maybe they can remember more. It was pretty late last night, I woke most of them up. Are you alright here alone?”  
“It’s daytime, there are two officers outside, I’ll be on the stairs, leave the door open, it’s like being in the same room with them.”  
“I’ll be back ASAP.”  
“You miss working as a CSI that much?” Sara grinned.  
“I won’t comment that one, Sidle. As an former acting supervisor I’d like to remember you to show some respect for ranks.”  
“Bite me.”  
“Might do that when you’re covered in chocolate.” Sofia smirked. “See you in a bit.”  
“Sofia?”  
“Yes?” The blonde stopped on the stairhead.   
“Ask the guy who’s running here, if he goes for his runs every day at the same time. I wonder if anybody knew and used that, like somebody wanted us to find the body.”  
“You mean, somebody played ghost on purpose?”  
“Stranger things happened.”  
“Probably. See you.”

“Found something?” It had taken Sofia two hours to come back.   
“Nothing exciting. I took photos of each room yesterday and you can see on each photo, the dust is everywhere, see.” She hold her notebook so that Sofia could see the crime scene photos of yesterday.  
“Yeah.”  
“So, today it looks different, I can clearly see our footprints in the rooms. Means, if anybody had been here before, there should be some bootprints.”  
“There weren’t any in the room we found the body?”  
“Well, I found your prints and the ones of the first officer on scene. At least I assume, they belong to you guys, you couldn’t fly upstairs. Can you get in contact with the officer who was first on scene and ask for bootprints? If he saw some and we need a print of his boots – and yours.”  
“You’ll get it.” Sofia took her cell phone and walked a few yards away.   
Sara couldn’t manage to get really good impressions of the bootprints she found, but she was sure, there were at least four different. What made sense, having the officer, Sofia, David and her there. Plus the assistant of David, but she couldn’t get a fifth impression so far. Which told her, if they could walk in without leaving a trace, the killer could have done the same.   
“We can make the print when we’re back in Vegas – or do you want me to get it?”  
“I can do that. What did the neighbors tell you today?”  
“A body wakes people up. One man reported that a car was driving down the street towards here but never came back. Or he didn’t see it coming back. He said, he was at his window for fifteen minutes, if the person in the car took the wrong way, by them he’d have found out and be back.”  
“Our killer is back?”  
“Ghosts don’t drive cars - as far as I know.”  
“They certainly don’t.” Sara took her kit. “Detective, I want to go out to have a look for some marks of this car. Would you mind coming with me? To protect me.”  
“Are you mocking me?” Sofia cocked her head.  
“No, I’m making your job easier by telling you what I’m about to do.”  
“Thanks.” Sofia wasn’t sure if there wasn’t anything coming after that. Sara, simply friendly and kind? Very seldom.   
“And I can need another pair of eyes.”  
“Serve and protect.”   
The road was sealed what made their search for marks more difficult.   
“When you drive on for five miles you’ll hit another sealed road to Vegas.” Sofia had her map in her hands.   
“Is it possible to drive that way? What kind of car did the man see?”  
“A truck.”  
“Could be possible.” Sara crawled down to the edge of the sealed road. There was some wind, it was likely the traces were gone. She started to walk at the edge on the left, Sofia took the right side.   
A hundred yards later they met in the middle of the street, where the sealed road ended.   
“Didn’t see anything.”  
“If there was anything it’s gone with the wind.” The blonde said.   
“Well Scarlet, let’s give it another try. We go ten yards forward and make our way back to the house. Maybe there’s something we missed from here.”  
“Scarlet? Who are you in this drama? Rhett Butler?”  
“I’m not your husband.”  
“It’s the only name I remember.”  
“In that case you should read the book.”  
“There’re movies, no need to read. And it’s not my kind of book or movie. I’m sorry, I’m not into this old stuff. It surprises me that you read it.”  
“It’s a classic.”  
“Maybe I invite you over to a long video night and watch it with you.”  
“What makes you think I want to spend an evening with you?” Sara furrowed her brows.   
“Who wouldn’t want that?” Sofia grinned wide and started to walk away.   
“Smug bitch.” Sara whispered and started to walk her area. An evening with Sofia Curtis. She’d rather go to church…okay, maybe she enjoyed her time with Sofia sometimes, but they spend enough time at work together, no reason to meet the detective after work. Especially not now after Sofia was so sure of herself.   
“Sara, I’ve got something.” Sara tried to remember where she stopped and came over to Sofia. The blonde was on her knees, looking at some traces in the sand.  
“This was definitely a car, the big stone protected the trace from the wind.”  
“Yeah, we got lucky.” Sara took some pictures. “You wanna play with my kit, detective? While I finish my little round, just in case there’s more.”  
“Why am I honored with so much confidence?”   
“Because you were a good CSI. I’m back in a few minutes.” Sara smirked and walked back to where she had stopped looking for any traces. Probably Sofia had found the traces of the car, but maybe there were more than one. Smug or not, the detective was useful and she did the work, she didn’t have to do, without complaining about it.   
Sara walked towards the house. No traces of a car were here. Why would anybody come to the house and drive back to the next sealed road through the desert? Why would anybody come to here at all? There was no evidence that anybody had been in the house in the last month. How could you place a body in there without leaving traces? Why would you leave a body in there? It all made no sense.   
She arrived at the house without seeing anything. The old building stood in front of her. Sara wanted to know more about the house, who the last owner was, why it was empty and who started the stupid rumor about a ghost and curses. Somebody must have started that stuff.   
“It’s almost dry, give it another two or three minutes.” Sofia said when Sara was back with her.   
“Did you find out anything about the house?”  
“Yes, I’ve got some stuff about it in the department.”  
“Who’s the owner?”  
“An old woman. She lives in a nursery since five years, tried to sell the house, it didn’t work out.”  
“You got her name?”  
“Sure.”  
“I think I’d like to meet her.”  
“She lives in a nursery, I don’t think she can kill somebody and place the body in the house. It would be rather stupid of her doing so, leaving a body in her own house.”  
“Rather stupid or rather clever are often very close together.”  
“I’ll go with you there.”  
“I need protection in a nursery?”  
“It’s our case, Sara. And yes, if she’s rather clever, than you might need some protection.”  
Sara got up snorting. She could handle an old woman alone, she wasn’t helpless.   
“I won’t argue with you about this, so don’t waste any time or energy on it.”  
“You’re a stubborn pain in the ass.”  
“I learnt from the best.” Sofia smirked when she looked up to Sara.   
“Yeah, sure. Let’s get your stuff together, I call the nursery and get us an appointment with the woman. We can bitch around later.”  
“We?”  
“Sure, we’re both bitchy that’s why we work so good together. Move it.”   
“Phhhh.” Sara turned and had to hide a smile. Yeah, maybe they worked so good together because of their strange way to treat each other. Sara couldn’t speak for Sofia but she’d jump at anybody’s face if they would say anything bad about Sofia as a cop or a CSI. She did great work in both jobs and if anybody would say different, Sara wouldn’t agree on that. Not when Sofia wasn’t around. 

Thursday evening

“Mrs. Lennox is with you in a minute.”   
Sara and Sofia were sitting in a separate room of the nursery home where the owner of the Ghost House lived.   
“Give me the heads up, please.”  
“Zera Leenox, eight-five, lives here since five years. Owns the Ghost House since she inherit it when she was fifty-two. No criminal records.” Sofia leaned casual on the chair next to Sara. It was late for a visit in the nursing home, after nine in the evening, but they had asked for only five minutes. Sara was sure, if they needed more time, they could come back in the morning, but she figured, being here was a waste of time.   
A woman on crutches came in the room. She was petite, maybe five foot one, her long gray hair was pulled back in a ponytail. She sat in front of the two woman. With her was a nurse.   
“Mrs. Lennox, my name is Sara Sidle, I’m with the crime lab, that’s detective Curtis. We’ve got a few questions regarding your house.”  
“Did the ghost kill somebody?” The voice was thin, they could barely hear her.   
“Ghost?” Sara tried not to sound too annoyed. There weren’t any things like ghosts. What was wrong with the world?  
“Yes, the ghost. It’s the Ghost House for a good reason. The ghost is still there, isn’t it?”  
“We didn’t see a ghost.”  
“But you felt it.”  
“I never a ghost so I can’t tell you how it feels. Mrs. Lennox…”  
“Don’t ridicule me, you lady. I know what I know. The ghost is alive. Who is dead?”  
“We don’t know who the victim is.”  
“It told me.”  
“Who?”   
“The ghost. It told me it will kill somebody because of me.”  
“I beg your pardon?” Okay, maybe she had to play this game.   
“Somebody died because of me.”  
“Did you kill this person? Did you…” Well, she couldn’t say scare him to death. What could she say?   
“Did you kill him?”  
“I didn’t stop the ghost…I didn’t stop it…”  
“Ma’am, I can assure you, the body we found in the house, your house, wasn’t killed by ghost. Ghost don’t kill people.”  
“They do.”  
Sara rubbed her temples and closed her eyes.   
“Why do you think the ghost killed the man, Mrs. Lennox?” Sofia asked gently. “What did or didn’t you do that it would do that?”  
“I didn’t do what it demanded.”  
“What did it demand?”  
“I…I…I killed…it killed…”  
“I’m sorry.” The nurse interrupted. “I think it’s better if you go now. Mrs. Lennox needs to go to bed, you confuse her too much.”  
“We need to talk…”  
“We’ll back tomorrow.” Sofia rose.   
“I’m not sure if that’s a good idea.”  
“We are investigating a murder case, we need to talk to Mrs. Lennox.”  
“You heard her, she talks about ghosts, she isn’t…she doesn’t know what she’s saying.”  
“I know what I say.”  
“Yes, of course.” The nurses petted Mrs. Lennox’s hand. “You need to sleep.”  
“They know about the ghost. She knows about the ghost.” She pointed at Sofia. “And she felt it too.” Now her finger was on Sara.   
“We believe you but you need to sleep now. Detective, Miss Sidle?”  
“We’ll be back tomorrow.” Sara got up, not happy that her interview was over that fast. They needed answers, real answers and not this ghost fairytales.   
“Be careful the ghost will kill anybody who stays in the house…it’s cursed. It’s haunted…”  
Sara opened the door for the elderly woman. Mrs. Lennox stopped right next to her.  
“You’ll be back tomorrow?”  
“Yes.”  
“I’ll show you I don’t lie. I’m not crazy.” She walked out of the room with the nurse by her side.   
Without words Sara and Sofia left the building.   
“I see you in the lab.”  
“Sara, what’s wrong?” Sofia could feel there was something with Sara.  
“Nothing…give me a second alone…do you have to go back to the department?”  
“I need to write a report, get the print of the boot, but I also need to talk to you about the house. I didn’t have the time to fill you in completely.”  
“Come over or send me the report.” Sara jumped in her car and drove of.   
Sofia watched the car vanishing. Ghost stories the whole time were a kind of creepy, the way Sara behaved too. What was going on in the mind of the investigator?   
Sofia drove back to the department, got the boot print and started her report. She was halfway through when Brass appeared.   
“Hey, how’s is going, ghost buster?”   
“Very funny.”  
“You caught somebody? Or shall I say: something?”  
“No, we didn’t find a suspect.”  
“What’s that?” He pointed to the boot print.  
“Boot print of the officer first on scene. CSI needs it to compare it with the ones they found.”  
“You’re working as a CSI too?”  
“I offered Sara to get the print. Is that a problem?”  
“No.” He smiled. “I’m happy you kids are not fighting all the time.” Kids. He used to call them both kids. She had no idea why, they weren’t both not kids anymore, but for Brass that didn’t seem to count.   
“We don’t fight.”  
“Telling somebody to fuck herself and showing the finger isn’t exactly a way to say I love you.”  
“We don’t need to love each other.”  
“No, but it would be nice if you don’t jump at each other’s faces.”  
“Jim.” Sofia sighed and put her pen away. “We don’t jump at our faces. When Sara tells me to fuck myself, she says so because she’s annoyed. She, being annoyed with ninety-five percent of all people in the world and annoyed at ninety percent of the time, it is pretty easy to piss her off. I get the finger, I get a sound bite and that’s it. I deserve them because I say things that pisses her off and know they will do so. We know both the other one doesn’t mean it personal. It’s much better this way than we handled our problems before.”  
“You didn’t handle your problems with each other, you blew off.”  
“Yes, I know. We learnt. We compensate the tensions between us this way. It doesn’t effect our work. I enjoy working with Sara, in fact, I like it, she’s my favorite CSI, but you won’t see or hear us acting like we do with anybody else. If we’d try, we’ll blow again.”  
“It’s a shame, you’re both young and talented, very similar…”  
“I’m not like her!”  
“You are. You’re similar and that’s good. And good to know you like working with her. I worry sometimes the two of you won’t cope with being at the same scene and now you’ve got the Ghost House case…”  
“Do you believe in ghosts?”  
“I believe in everything. Being on the job for all these years you only doubt that there’s anything outside, that doesn’t exist. To be honest, ghosts can’t be as bad as people. I didn’t arrest one ghost in thirty years but hundreds of people every year. So if I blame all my unsolved cases to ghosts, the humans still outnumber them.”  
“We tried to talk to the owner of the house, an elderly woman. She insists that the DB we found was killed by a ghost. And she said it’s her fault.”  
“Why is that?”  
“I don’t know. She never told us. She got nervous and her nurse brought her back to her room, told us we can’t talk to her anymore. We’ll be back tomorrow, there’re still open questions.” Sofia stopped for a second.  
“And?” Jim felt there was something more Sofia wanted to say.  
“And she told Sara, she’d give her some evidence that there’s really a ghost tomorrow.”  
“Evidence of a ghost? What did our Sara say about that? I don’t think she believes in ghosts.”  
“She doesn’t.”  
“I thought so, she’s a true scientist.”  
“She’s stubborn and narrow-minded; sometimes.”  
“Do you believe in ghosts, Sofia?” Jim was slightly amused.  
“I try to keep an open mind.”  
“Well, let me tell you this one thing more: I won’t deny there are ghost or there aren’t ghosts, but I can assure you, it will be the same like with the aliens. If they are somewhere out there, they’ll be too damn clever to get caught by a human. And I really doubt they need to kill us, they can simply scare us away by saying: Boo!”   
“Doc Robbins COD was scared to death.”  
“In that case, you’re chasing a ghost. Good luck with that.”  
“Thanks.”  
“Do you have anything else on than finishing your report and going over to the lab?”  
“Not until the morning when we talk to Mrs. Lennox.”  
“Go home, kiddo. You started early, you have to be back in the morning, grab some sleep. You are not a ghost, you need to rest.”  
“Couldn’t be wrong to be a ghost. It should be easier to catch a ghost when you are one.” Sofia wasn’t sure if a white sheet was something that suited her but she doubted that ghosts cared about their appearance. 

Friday morning

“You look tired.” Sara was leaning on her car in front of the nursery home when Sofia jumped out of her car. When the blonde removed her shades Sara could see, Sofia didn’t sleep much or well.   
“Long night.”  
“Thought you left the department around one.” Sofia had brought her the boot print and left because Sara didn’t have any time for her.   
“I did. Doesn’t mean I went to bed – not right away. Early night, cold night with rain, the best time to be out in a club.”  
“Best time to be in bed.”  
“Yes, that’s for sure but some people prefer not to be alone in bed all the time.”  
“That’s why you look so tired, you woke up in the wrong bed. Not the smartest thing when you start working in the morning.”  
“I don’t wake up in strange beds. I don’t sleep at places where I had my fun like I don’t take them home to me. You need some rules in life, theses are mine: Enjoy every night but don’t get caught by staying and don’t get trapped by getting them to your bed. There’re too many people around who don’t understand the meaning of a short fun.”  
“Most of the college kids understand nothing else.”  
“I prefer them over twenty-one and a challenge. Guys who jump every girl are boring, they don’t satisfy my hunger of a good hurt.”  
“I didn’t know your standard is that low.”  
“Nothing wrong with hunting as long as both understand the rules. You should try it too, could bring you out of the boring anchoret life of yours.”  
“Not my cup of tea when I’m working.”  
“You want to tell me you’re hunting affairs when you’re off?”  
“I’m not like you and I’m not a machine. I won’t say more about that, not your business.”  
“Every time it’s getting interesting it’s not my business, what a pity. Alright, let’s talk to Mrs. Lennox, maybe we’ll got more today. I’m curious how she’ll prove to you that there’s a ghost in her house.”  
“Me too.”  
Sara had called the nursery home before they came over. Mrs. Lennox was waiting for them in her room. The nurse of the night before was with her again. Sara wondered for herself if Mrs. Lennox had a personal nurse or if their work schedules were as bad as they of the CSI.   
“Good morning Mrs. Lennox.” Sara said.  
“You’re back. And you too.” Mrs. Lennox’s eyes met Sofias.   
“Of course we are, we’ve got some questions. Still. When did you get the house?”  
“Thirty-three years ago. Thirty-three. You know what that means?”  
“The number? No.”  
“It’s the age Jesus Christ died.” Sofia said and earned an surprised look from Sara and a pleased one from Mrs. Lennox.   
“Very good, yes. Thirty-three years of suffering and that’s a sign. This house haunted me for thirty-three years, it will kill me soon. The ghost will come and get me.”  
“You’re not living in the house anymore, why would the ghost leave the house to come to you?” Sofia asked. Sara made the decision to listen as long as they were talking about ghosts. She’d ask the questions about science and reality.   
“I wanted to sell it.”  
“Really?”  
“Yes. It’s haunted, I knew nobody would like to buy it. I tried so much, I called the ghost buster, I called priests, nobody could chase the ghost away. So I made the decision to sell it. For over ten years the house was on the market, I moved out after five of them to here, couldn’t bear to live in that house anymore. Finally, last month I got a letter that somebody wanted to buy my house. A young man, he wanted to offer ghost tours in Las Vegas and when he heard of the Ghost House, that it was up for sale, he contact me, offered me good money to sell it. He…he wanted to make a spooky motel out of it.”  
“Do you know his name?” Now they were talking business, Sara thought. “That sounded more like reality.  
“Casper. Casper White.” That again sounded like a flat joke.   
“When was the last time you talked to Mr. White?”  
“Last week. He wanted to be here the day before yesterday, he wanted to sign the papers, bring the money but he never showed up. This new body must have scared him away. You can’t mess up with ghosts.”  
“Says who?” Sara had no idea why she asked that, it slipped out of her mouth.   
“The ghost.”   
“Did the ghost ever talked to you, Mrs. Lennox?” Sofia asked, knowing Sara wouldn’t go this way.   
“Yes, of course. It warned me.”  
“When was the last time it warned you?”  
“Last week. Thursday night.” The voice of the woman became quiet.   
“What did it say to you?”  
“It didn’t say a thing. It wrote me a note.”  
“A note?”  
“Yes. When I woke up in the middle of the night I found this note on my bed. You sell the house and you’ll regret it. I do regret it, somebody died because of me. I killed this person because I wanted to sell the house.”  
“Do you still have the note?” Sara really wanted to see how a note of a ghost looked like.   
“I burnt it.”  
“What?” She burnt evidence?   
“The note said, if I don’t burn it, it will inflame itself and we’ll all burn in our sleeps. So I took it to the basin and burnt it, washed the rest of it down the drain.”  
Sofia sighed. All evidence gone.   
“The one in your room?” Sara asked.  
“Yes my child. I didn’t want anybody get hurt.”  
“Can I have a look at the drain?” Sara asked more the nurse than Mrs. Lennox but both nodded. The investigator got up, took her kit and walked to the drain.   
“Did you get another note, Mrs. Lennox?” Sofia got the attention of the old woman back.  
“No, but I didn’t call Mr. White to tell him, I can’t sell it. I couldn’t reach him so I thought, I’ll tell him when he comes over. You should talk to him, I worry because he didn’t come along.”  
“When exactly was he supposed to be here?”  
“Two days ago, in the morning.” At that time the body was dead but nobody knew about it. The new body couldn’t have scared the man away.   
“How did Mr. White look? Can describe him?”  
“A young man, but they are all young compare to me. I think, he was in his late thirties, early forties, his hair was short, black and his eyes green. A really nice green.” Sofia didn’t need to look at Sara to know, she had stopped what she was doing. Casper White was their John Doe, the body they had found. Somebody was deadly serious about not selling the house.   
“Do you know where I can reach Mr. White? How I can contact him?”  
“I’ve got his card…Amy, could you have a look on my desk? There’s a card of Mr. White on the top shelf.”  
“Of course, Mrs. Lennox.”   
“And Mr. White wanted to buy the house to make a motel out of it?”  
“Yes, for his ghost tours. Do people really want to make things like that? Ghost tours?”  
“They aren’t scared of anything anymore, Mrs. Lennox. You moved to here five years ago, did you live in your house alone?”  
“No.”  
“Who lived with you?”  
“The ghost.”  
“Beside the ghost. A husband?”  
“My husband died twenty years ago. One day I found him dead in the bed. His heart had stopped beating, he always had a healthy heart, very strong. I think the ghost killed him.”  
“What was his name?”  
“Barney.”  
“Do you have children?”  
“No, we were never blessed with children.”  
“If you can’t sell the house…”  
“I won’t sell it, the ghost will kill us otherwise.”  
“What are you going to do with the house?”  
“I’ll leave it to the ghost. I tried to change my will but the damn lawyer didn’t do it. I’m sorry for the language.”  
“I hear the word lawyer all the time, no need to apologize.” Sofia smiled.   
Mrs. Lennox chuckled a bit.   
“Mrs. Lennox, I can’t find a card of a Mr. White.”  
“I put it on the top shelf, I’m sure about that, Amy.”  
“I had a look all over your desk, it’s not here. Shall I have a look around the room.”  
“You do that but I’m sure I put it on the top shelf.” Her eyes became big. “Detective, the ghost took the card when it brought the letter to here, it knows about Mr. White, he might be in danger. You have to find him and warn him.”  
It was too late for that, but there was no need to tell the old lady about that.   
“We need an address or telephone number to contact him, that’s why we need the card.”  
“I can’t remember that…”  
“Your phone list, Mrs. Lennox.” The nurse came back to them. “All numbers Mrs. Lennox calls show up on a list, when you remember the last time you tried to call Mr. White, we can get his number from the list.”  
“I called him last Friday. After I got the letter in the night.”  
“I’ll go and check that for you, detective.”  
“Thank you. Mrs. Lennox, who inherit you the house?”  
“My father. It’s in the family for over hundred years. My grandfather built it with his own hands.”  
“And did they ghost live in the house right from the beginning?”  
“No, it came in later, much later. Twenty years ago. I think it’s my uncle Sam.”  
“Why is that?”  
“Because he and my father always argued and one day, my father and he fought, my uncle lost his balance and fell down the stairs, broke his neck. He started to haunt us, he wanted  
revenge. We thought when my father died a few month later, it was uncle Sam who came back from the grave and killed him.”  
“How did your father die?”  
“He hang himself. I’m sure uncle Sam talked him into it.”  
“Mrs. Lennox, I’ve found something in your drain that looks like it might be burnt paper. Mind if I take it with me to the lab?” Sara asked. She had demounted the drain under the basin.   
“Child, what are you doing? That’s not a job for a young woman, that’s the job of a man.”  
“I’m fine, don’t worry. May I?” Sara hold something black with her tweezers.   
“Of course you can. Please don’t hurt yourself. I can call the facility manager to repair that.”  
“Don’t bother, I’ll have it fixed in a minute. I don’t do this for the first time.”  
“The young women today…when I was young, I didn’t demounted a drain or walked around with a gun. I spent the time at home, making everything nice and comfortable for my husband. Are you married, Honey?” Mrs. Lennox looked at Sofia.  
“No.”  
“Engaged?”  
“No.”  
“You’re young, but don’t wait too long, all good men are taken if you’re not careful enough. It’s not nice to be alone when you’re old.”  
“I’ll be alright. Mrs. Lennox which real-estate company takes care of your house?”  
“Smith and Son.”  
“I think I’d like to talk to them about your house.”  
“Can you tell them I don’t want to sell it anymore?”  
“That’s a thing you’ve to do, I’m sorry, I can’t do that.”  
“I’ll call them, I don’t think anybody wants to buy it, but better safe than sorry.”  
“You’re right, Mrs. Lennox.”

“What did you find in the drain?”   
“Something that might have been paper, I don’t know. It’s burnt, all the water did the rest, I doubt that the guys in the lab can do anything with it, but I’ll try.” Sara poured some coffee for them. After their talk with Mrs. Lennox they drove to the lab.   
“Casper White is very likely our John Doe.” Sofia leant back.  
“That’s what I think.” Sara eased her shoulders.   
“I’ll take the number the nurse gave me and try to find an address to Mister White. You think it’s his real name?”  
“With a name like that he had no other choice than working in the ghost business.”  
“And get killed by a ghost.”  
“A ghost that comes to a nursery home to leave a note for the owner of the house not to sell it? Come on, that’s bullshit.”  
“You think they’re new-fashioned and send emails? Mrs. Lennox doesn’t have a computer and I doubt she can handle them.”  
“Don’t they write their messages on a mirror? At least in most of the movies they do.”  
“You watch ghost movies?”   
“I watch a lot of stuff to find out, there’s too much crap out in the world. Last movie I watched was with a mummy, haunting organs to reincarnate itself after I don’t know how many years. It even got a German Shepard and when the main actress tried to burn it with a lighter and hairspray or whatever, it burnt and was still alive.”  
“I keep that in mind in case I meet a mummy.”  
“It didn’t kill it, try it with a cat, they were above them in Egypt, as far as I know.”  
“You’re strange.”  
“I spend too much time with you.”  
“I know you can never get enough of me, that’s why you enjoy spending time with me.”  
“Arrogant bitch.”  
“Arrogant doesn’t make me wrong. I’ll go and try to find something out about our Casper White. I’ll call you if I find anything.”  
“Alright. I dig into the life of Misses. Lennox and try to find something out about her family, who obviously liked to die in the house.”  
“That’s why it’s the Ghost House.”  
“Whatever.”  
“The tire marks in the desert came back as a 1998 Sedan. There are over hundred of them registered in Las Vegas, the lab tries to narrow it down, after your witness spoke about a male as a driver, they eliminate all female owner without a partner, leaves us with ninety five.”  
“I’m used to get long lists from you, but they are usually not that long.”  
“Wait, we looked for men with a rap sheet and then we’re down to twenty. No murder, some were in prison for B & E. None of them made any trouble the last weeks.” Sara gave Sofia a list with names.  
“Great. I’ll call twenty guys, pay them a visit, track them down and hope one has no alibi and a motive to kill the guy and leave him in the house.”  
“And play ghost for a runner at night time.”  
“Of course, I forgot about that. I love my job.”  
“That’s why you’re the detective, go and detect.”  
Sofia formed with her lips the word ‘bitch’ and left the lab. She’d get Sara for that, payback was a bitch too. 

Friday noon

“How far are you with your ghost hunt?” Grissom came to Sara.   
“I’m working on the killing list of the ghost, it was quite busy.”  
“Really?”  
“Yes.” She had some papers lying in front of her on the table.   
“You’re early, shift doesn’t start in the next six hours.”  
“I had something to do for my case, like you. Can you close it soon?”  
“Do you have any handcuffs that fit ghosts?”  
“No.”  
“Do you know how to catch a ghost?”  
“You’ll need a thermometer to see when the temperature drops and the ghost is in the room…”  
“I’m sorry, I came as fast as possible.” Sofia came in the room. “Grissom.”  
“Hi Sofia.”  
“Grissom tells me how to catch a ghost.”  
“You call Ghostbusters?” Sofia offered.  
“Or Mystery Inc.”  
“Why can’t the detective I’m working with do her job and arrest the killer? That’s what she gets paid for.”  
“The last time I tried to catch a ghost I ended up on the floor, I flew right through it.”  
“Do you try illegal substances when you’re off duty?”  
“I think, I’ll leave you two alone. Try not to jump at each others faces again. Please.” His eyes were more on Sara than on Sofia before he left.  
“Again. Phhh.”  
“Be nice to me, listen to your boss.”  
“Shut up or tell me what you found out.”  
“I found an office to go to, Casper White Inc. Nobody answered the phone. In the internet was a little web page about the company. They offer ghost tours around Las Vegas. Catch the spirit of the old bosses and showgirls, see where they died, catch their ghosts. The tour runs three times a week, from ten pm to one in the morning. The last tour was due yesterday, I guess the member of the tour ended up waiting for the tour guide for the whole night.”  
“So we’ll have a look at the office now?”  
“We can. I get two officers over if you want.”  
“No need to sit here when we can check out what happened to Casper White.”  
“I drive.” They went to Sofia’s car.   
“What did you find out?”  
“A few things, our ghost was quite busy.” At least that was what Sara’s files said so far.   
“You believe in it?”  
“No, I don’t.”  
“Would have surprised me.”  
“You surprised me by believing.”  
“I try to be open-minded.”  
“In every case?”  
“In every case. Why?”  
“Just wondering.” The smile on Sara’s face made Sofia almost asking for details but she stopped herself. The brunette wouldn’t tell her anything more, otherwise she’d said what she was thinking of. But the answer had sounded friendly that was a little success. No bitching around even when they didn’t share the same opinion about that topic.   
The office of Casper White was in the south of Vegas. When they arrived two officers were already waiting for them.  
“The office is closed.” One of the said.  
“The sign says it should be open.” Sofia pointed to a sign, that said the office was open daily from noon to four.  
“Give me a minute, will you?” Sara vanished in a little snack shop. Sofia rose an eyebrow. The investigator stopped for a snack? That was spooky. The Sara she knew would never stop an investigation for a snack.   
Only one minute later Sara was back. “The office was closed yesterday too. And the day before yesterday.”  
“And you know that because you bought a coffee to go?” Sofia grinned about Sara’s two cups of coffee.   
“Yes, I read that in the tea leaves. Or the owner of the shop did. Said the owner of the ghost shop comes over to his shop daily to get some coffee and muffins, didn’t shop up the last two days. When the shop owner had a look to here, he saw it was closed. His description of Casper White matches our John Doe.”  
“Two people describe him like the body, I think we can be sure, it’s him. Let’s open this place up, maybe we can find some DNA to confirm that.”  
With the help of an iron rod the officers opened the door and entered the shop.   
“LVPD. Mister White, are you here?” Sofia yelled out.   
“He was either very messy or somebody looked for something too.” Sara commented the chaos in the office.   
“You stay back, we’ll clear the scene.” Sofia stopped Sara from entering.  
“Protect and serve.” Sara blew a raspberry but she stayed back until the two officer called the scene cleared.   
“Do you think somebody was looking for something?”  
“I’ve no idea how good Mister White was as a tour guide or businessman, but I doubt he had this chaos.” Sara looked around the desk. The drawer were open, all around the desk were papers.   
“His filing cabinets are all open and the locks don’t look to me like somebody used the proper key for them.”  
“How comes that you can play CSI but I’m not allowed to play detective?”  
“I’m qualified as a CSI, you’re not qualified as a cop. You make the training and the tests and you can go into every office in front of me and clear the scene. I also don’t do your job – not without you telling me to do so. But if you want I can go out and leave it all to you.” Sofia dropped the file she had in her hand and turned. Sara got her arm before the blonde could go.   
“Stay. Please. I’m sorry.”  
“Sara, I don’t stop you because I want to annoy you, I do that because I don’t want you to get hurt. It’s my job to go in first, you know, if I let you go in first and something happens, we’ll both in trouble. Look at it from the bright side, I’m your servant, I clean the way for you.”  
“Servant? I’ve never met a servant as annoying, smug and arrogant as you are.” Sara smirked. She didn’t want to that bitchy it just happened – again.   
“We’re a new species, made for stubborn and moody CSI bitches.” Sofia smiled innocent.   
“That’s why you’re working so often my cases, you’re made for me. Now things are getting clear.”   
“I’m glad you finally notice it. Gloves?”  
“I packed some for you this morning.”  
“Thanks.” Sofia put on her gloves. There was one of these moments when they were in danger to blew up. This time it was Sofia who overreacted and she was happy that Sara had stopped her from walking away. She would have regretted it as soon as she stood on the street.   
“I’ve got a used coffee cup, that will do for DNA.” Sara bagged a plastic coffee cup.   
“His business was fairly new, only a few month old. You know, this isn’t the only ghost haunting tour in Vegas. They’re visiting some places of mobs, Bugsy Siegel and the Motel of Death. Was White trying to build a new motel of death? The reputation was perfect for it.”  
“When you go to a new place, do you look for ghost tours?”  
“No, I’m more into beaches and clubs. But I know there are ghost tours all over the planet, people love go to out at night time and themselves scare a little bit. Most of the things are rather ridiculous and not scary.”  
“The scariest thing you can see are the news in TV. What happens every day on our streets scares me more than anything you can see in an adventure park or a ghost tour.”  
“Our job isn’t about seeing the bright side of life.”  
“Not even close to it.” Sara got some files. “He was about to pay fifty thousand dollar for the house, I found a note about it. I’ve no idea where the forms are, but he wrote a note down. Ghost House fifty grand.”  
“Why would anybody want to stop Misses Lennox from selling her house?”  
“That’s a good question. Do you agree with me that it’s not usual that a ghost writes letters to an old woman in a nursery?”  
“As far as I know, ghosts stay in their houses and don’t fly around.” That was what Sara knew about ghosts.  
“They also don’t steal cards of real-estate broker. I’m sure, whoever left the letter in the room of the old woman took the card. I had a look at the security in the nursery home. The front door is open twenty-four seven, there’s a camera over the door, a doorman who looks like he lives there too. You wait until he’s making his round, I bet that’s every night at the same time, sneak inside, take the stairs to the room. The lock isn’t anything somebody with a little knowledge can’t open, leave the letter, take the card and off you go.”  
“How did he find out in which room he has to go?”  
“Misses Lennox room is towards the park, you can see her from there. Otherwise, you walk in there, ask for great aunt and know where to go. Dress yourself up as a courier boy, bring her a few flowers and you know where the room exactly is, you can have a look inside, not that difficult.”  
“Can work like that. To find out in which nursery house Misses Lennox is, you give them a call, tell you’re looking for your great-aunt. But again, why that house? We spent some time in it, I didn’t see anything special, anything valuable. Can’t be the place, it’s at the end of the world.”  
“Perfect for all businesses you want to have in a quiet place.”  
“There was nothing.”  
“Maybe there’s suppose to be something. We can go to the broker and ask him.”  
“I can call him, when do you want to be there? Or do we surprise him?”  
“I feel like surprises today.” Sara lifted some prints from the door handle.   
“May I?” Sofia took the fingerprint powder.   
“Help yourself.” Sara watched the blonde for a few seconds dusting for prints on the filing cabinets. No Sofia hadn’t forgotten how to work like a CSI. Her moves were smooth without any hesitation. She knew exactly what she was doing and how much of the powder she needed to get a perfect print.   
“There’s no file in it about the house. I looked under Lennox, I looked under Ghost House, under motel, nothing. All I could find were details about the tour, it’s not going to the house at the moment, but there’s a new tour schedules and that will go to the house. Want me to bag them all?”  
“It’s a B & E at the moment, as soon as we’ve got the affirmation that the DNA and the prints match our John Doe, it’s a homicide. Grissom asked me earlier how much longer we need, I think, he wants to put me on a new case.” Now that it started to be more interesting and they found real evidence.   
“There was no evidence that the man was killed, he died of fear, it’s not said that anybody scared him to death. It’s understandable when Grissom wants you on something hotter. You’re too good to be wasted.”  
“Stop sucking up, that’s not your style.”  
“You should learn to take a compliment.”  
“I can learn that from you, I guess.”  
“You sure can. And some more things.”  
“Like what?” Wow she had managed to ask this question in an amused tone. Sara was proud of herself. One almost blow off per night was enough.   
“How to make a perfect Italian pizza.”  
“You didn’t like my pizza?”  
“I didn’t say that.”  
“It sounded like that.”  
“It was a good pizza, but I’m more into the classic Italian style. If you are nice and friendly I might invite you one day to my place and make a real Italian pizza for you.”  
“What makes you think I want to come over to your place to eat with you?”  
“You like perfect things. A perfect Italian pizza would be something you really appreciate. Especially I’d make a vegetarian pizza with Italian herbs and topics.”  
“Where do you get them from?”  
“I might tell you that while we’re eating. Don’t try to find an excuse why you have no time right now, I won’t ask you for a special day now. But I will offer it one day. Like a surprise.” Sofia grinned. Italian pizza was one of the few things she was proud of being able to make it. 

Friday afternoon

An hour later they were in the real-estate office and sat in front of Ben Benson, the one who were supposed to sell the house.  
“There was a client for this house, I gave him the number of Misses Lennox. The last time I talked to her, she sounded like the man was about to buy the house.”  
“He wanted but then a little inconvenience appeared.” Sara couldn’t say that the young man was simpatico to her. He was her way too slimy.   
“Did he run out of money?”  
“He ran more out of life.” She said dryly.   
“What?”  
“He died.” She couldn’t say he was killed, there was no evidence. Yet.  
“When?”  
“A few days ago. Mister Benson, was there anybody else who was interested in the house?”  
“No, no I was glad when I found finally somebody who wanted to buy the old thing. It’s over hundred years, add the curses and ghost stories and you’ve got something that you can’t sell. Five years, one interested person, that says everything.”  
“Do you try to sell it as the Ghost House?” Sofia asked.  
“No. Maybe we should try that, the world is full of freaks.”  
“Could you give us the blueprints of the building?”  
“Yes, sure. Are you interested in the house?”  
“We found a body in there, we are very interested in it.”  
“Did the new owner…?”  
“Yes.”  
“Damn. This house is cursed. I heard it kills people but I didn’t know it kills them before they live in it.”  
“Houses don’t kill people. People kill people, Mister Benson.” Sara said.   
“Ghosts do so too.”  
“I didn’t know your business is into psychic and occultism.”  
“It seems to be obvious in this case. I’m not sure we can sell the house with this reputation.”  
Sara didn’t mention that Misses Lennox wasn’t interested in selling it anymore. She couldn’t see any reason to sell or not to sell it. It was only a house.   
“I’ll get the blueprints for you.”  
“Thank you.”   
“Would you buy a house that’s cursed?” Sofia asked when they were alone.   
“If I’d buy a house I’d buy it because I like it, because it’s an area that appeals to me, because it’s not too far away from my work place and not too close to the city. I didn’t check for any curses or ghosts when I got my apartment, that wasn’t part of the things I’ve asked for. I lived ones in a flat somebody died in. Most people want to die in their sleep, many people do, so there are a lot of flats, apartments, houses and whatever people died in and new people live in now.”  
“They say you should stay at least one night in a haunted house in your life. Some count that to the hundreds things in life you’re suppose to do.”  
“I don’t care what other people think I should do. Right and important to me doesn’t mean something is right and important to you.”  
“I agree on that.”  
“So, here we go, the blueprints. Can I help you with anything else?”   
“Not at the moment, thanks. We might come back to you.”  
“Is the house closed? Can I – I mean I doubt anybody want – show it to somebody?”  
“It’s not crime scene anymore.”  
“Good. I doubt anybody wants to see it anyway, but you never know. People buy the strangest things.”

“Okay, now tell me about your research about Misses Lennox.” They were back in the lab and on the best way to work overtime. Especially if they stayed until the night shift started.   
“She told us about her uncle Sam, that he died in the house and is the ghost.” Sara poured some coffee. She wanted to stay at least until night shift started and needed a boost.   
“Yeah, uncle Sam and her father argued and uncle Sam died in there.”  
“I checked that. Uncle Sam he broke his neck when he fell down the stairs. Drunken. There were witnesses who said, both men were arguing for a while when they suddenly heard a bang. Misses Lennox and her husband came out of the kitchen to see what happen and saw how her father and her uncle were fighting. Before her husband could go upstairs to stop them, uncle Sam somehow fell down the stairs. He was dead immediately.”  
“Did nobody come after her father? I mean, I’m sure he didn’t intend to kill his…”  
“Brother.”  
“..his brother, but well, they were fighting and his brother fell down the stairs, involuntary manslaughter.”  
“The was an investigation, Misses Lennox father had no sheet, he got out of jail after one night because his daughter bailed him out. One week later they found her father hanging from the ceiling in the library. It looked like suicide, but there was no note. CSI couldn’t find any traces of murder, Misses Lennox and her husband were at that time out of town, visiting her sister in Los Angeles. No evidence of a burglar.”  
“The man killed his brother, I think he was sorry for that. He couldn’t live with that anymore, some people commit suicide after they’ve killed somebody. Even if it was only an accident.”  
“They leave a note if they do so and Misses Lennox said to the police, her father and her brother were never close. She said, when she found her father hanging from the ceiling, the room felt cold and she thought, she heard somebody laughing. The tale of the ghost was born.”  
“It is cold in that house, colder than outside. And it’s not isolation and no air-con.”  
“I don’t know why it appeals to be cooler inside than outside, can be because we expect a haunted house to be cold. I don’t know, the power of our imagination is big. Two dead bodies in one week is a tragic anyway.”  
“Yes.”  
“And it wasn’t enough. After her father died, her husband had his heart attack. Two months later. The ME couldn’t find any reason why he got the heart attack, according to all files of the doctor of Misses Lennox’s husband, he was healthy. Almost seventy, but healthy. Barney Lennox died of a heart attack and as far as I have the files about his dead, it looks like the files of Casper White.”  
“Did DNA confirm?”  
“DNA is running, I matched the prints, he is our victim.”  
“And he dies twenty years later the same way like Barney Lennox. They didn’t have children, Misses Lennox’ father lived in the house, what’s about the brother?”  
“He lived in a little shed in the garden.”  
“How did Misses Lennox’ mother die?”  
“When Misses Lennox was a teenager. She died of the flu.”  
“Three out of five family members died in the house, all three were male, Misses Lennox is the only one who’s still alive. That’s usually enough to make her a suspect, beside the fact, she didn’t kill the first two and her husband died of a heart attack. I’ve no idea how you manage to kill your husband that way.”  
“A large shopping bill?” Sara smiled.   
“Very large. With Casper White another male died in the house or got found dead in the house. We don’t know where he died. He didn’t have the keys to the house, I asked Mister Benson. Misses Lennox also didn’t give him the keys, which means, he broke in or somebody brought him there.”  
“He had no reason to break in, he was found two days ago, died four days ago, there’s no need to break in a house that’s yours in less than fifty hours.”  
“It’s all a little bit weird if you ask me. But there’s a pattern. Why did the ghost kill, uncle Sam, his brother?”  
“Because uncle Sam died because of his brother.” Sara answered the obvious thing.  
“Why did the ghost kill Barney Lennox?”  
“Because he didn’t stop his father-in-law?” This time Sara had to guess.   
“And then it’s quiet for twenty years until it kills Casper White? Because he wanted to buy the house? Why didn’t it kill Misses Lennox together with her husband?”  
“A ghost isn’t a rational thing why should it think rational?”  
“Your point. Random killings. Misses Lennox said she left the house because of the ghost. But she put up with it for fifteen years. Fifteen years. Would you stay in a house, you think it’s haunted for fifteen years? Staying in a house you’re sure of a ghost is living in there too. An unfriendly ghost.”  
“Why didn’t she leave earlier, that’s a good question. It’s the house of her grandfather, maybe she wanted to keep it in the family, but they don’t have children, who was supposed to inherit it? And why put she the house up for sale out of the blue?”  
“I think we need another talk to Misses Lennox. She called Casper White by the way. Or tried to call him.”  
“I’d like to the security service about the possibility to break into Misses Lennox room.” Sara was sure there weren’t any videos of Thursday night, but she wanted to know how easy it was to break in.  
“Shall we go right away?”  
“The second visit today, we go on like that and she’ll adopt us as her grandchildren.”  
“Maybe we’ll inherit the Ghost House. You can live there, you don’t believe in ghosts.”  
“This house is even for me a little bit too far away from everything.” Sara laughed. She liked to live a lit bit quieter but not in the middle of the desert. 

Sunday evening

Sara had a new case a few hours later. Grissom needed her to for a double homicide in a casino, no more time for ghost and assuming natural causes of death. She helped Catherine until the early morning, pulling more than a double before Grissom sent her home. Being back at noon and working another double she was more than due for a night off and she got it.   
A long sleep, a long walk with Gata and a good dinner set her in the right mood for her evening off. Usually she spend this rare evening at home, reading, relaxing in the bath tube, watching a movie with a glass of wine and a salad, but today she felt like dancing. In the newspaper was an advertisement about a party in a club she knew and after thinking the whole thing over and over, she made the decision she deserved an evening with dancing, flirting and whatever she was up to. She needed some distraction to get the job out of her head.   
Dressed in black pants, a black shirt with silver sparkling writing on it, she arrived after ten in the club. The first people were already on the dance floor, dancing to the sound of Blondie. Could a night start better than that? She loved Blondie, she loved ‘Call me’ and she was in the mood to dance.   
The next time she had a look at the time it was past midnight and she felt like a cocktail. Leaving the guy she was dancing with the last couple of songs, she walked to the bar and ordered a Swimming Pool. Five minutes. A little break, observing the other people, listen to the music. The sound of the eighties and nineties. Perfect for her, she loved the music, she could sing along with the songs, she remembered nice things, less nice things, that didn’t seem to be that bad anymore and could lose herself in a song. Why didn’t she do things like this more often? It even didn’t bother her that she didn’t know anybody here. She had talked to some people but most of the time she was simply dancing.   
The barkeeper offered her some snacks and Sara took some nuts. Energy. She’d dance the rest of the night and she would find herself some company, she felt like that today. Like back in the days when she was young and careless. When the first beats of ‘Billy Jean’ came out of the speaker she was back on the dance floor. Who could resist an old classic of the King Of Pop?   
She yelled out happy when she heard the beginning of one of her all time favorites and started to sing along as soon as the singer started: She's the top, she's got the world on a string. She makes me boogie, makes me do anything, yea yea. Hey now, touch the sky you've got a certain kind of look in your eyes” Oh Roxette, they were so great. She had loved the Swedish duo, had danced to their songs, had cried, had loved.   
And I know what love can do, yes I know what hearts can do. The big love is taking the wheel. The big love goes head over heels. The big lust, bring it into the small world. The bigger, the better.  
Suddenly she felt hands on her hips and lips very close to her ear.   
“I didn’t know that you are so damn hot and sexy, Sidle.”   
She turned around and saw Sofia in front of her. The blonde was like Sara dressed up in black, everything tight on her body, nothing was hidden under the very thin clothes. She must have turned a few heads when she came in the club.   
“What are you doing here?” It was a night without work. She wasn’t sure she wanted a colleague around.   
“The same you do, dancing. I love the eighties and the nineties. Looks like we’ve got the same soft spot for Swedish music.”  
“Maybe.” Sara smirked. Alright, Sofia was here. Well, that wouldn’t bother Sara, she was alright with meeting the detective outside the department. It could be worse, it could be Ecklie. In that case she’d leave immediately. And as long as Sofia didn’t think Sara would talk to her the whole time, they should be fine.   
Sofia was with Sara for the song, then the blonde vanished and Sara danced with herself. Perfect to her situation the DJ played ‘Dancing with myself’. Did she mention she loved this evening? Night. The next time this kind of event was going on, she’d ask Grissom to have the night off. She deserved some quality time and she had wasted enough time in the lab, trying to get his attention. It didn’t work out, she was over that and ready to find somebody new. Or enjoy somebody for a while.   
“Don’t you usually drink Swimming Pool?” Sofia was back and handed Sara a cocktail.  
“Oh, thanks.” Why did the detective remember what Sara liked to drink? They had met only once on a party. She didn’t bother to ask, she knew the answer. A good detective remembers everything. Smug stuff. Well, smug suited Sofia very good.   
“Did Brass give you a night off or you finished early?”  
“I’ve a night off, three doubles in a row, I needed a break.”  
“Same here.”  
“And you use the night for a party instead of a book.”  
“This kind of party gets me out all the time. I love this music.”  
“You can dance but unlike the dance music nowadays, you can also sing along. Plus all the good memories about high school and college.”  
“Just great music.” Sara closed her eyes and listened to the music. Hundred percent perfect music, there was nothing that could ruin this night.   
A few songs later she got some new cocktails. Sofia wasn’t right next to her, but she wasn’t far away. Just right. Sara didn’t want to stay the whole time with the detective or anybody else, having Sofia a few yards away was nice in one way. They took care of each others with cocktails for a while, Sara felt how the alcohol was in her head. It made her feeling free, feeling good, it was like she was flying without being drunk. She guessed, she had exactly the right amount of cocktails and the last time Sofia had also brought her some water. That must have been the scientist in the blonde. Some water for her body.   
It was well after three and she started to feel a little bit tired. One or two hours more and she was ready to go to bed. The last hour she had have a look around if there was somebody she wanted to join her, but nobody special jumped in her eyes. Whoever was around her was too pushy or seemed not interested. Two more hours, if she wasn’t getting lucky, she’d would be alright too. 

Three hours later she was in bed, trying to get her breath even. She got lucky but in a way she never thought she would be.   
“Are you leaving me now?” She wasn’t sure if she could open her eyes again. There were still some stars from her orgasm and she wanted to enjoy that as long as possible.   
“Do you kick me out?” Sara could her the amusement in the voice.   
“You told me you don’t fall asleep in strange beds.”  
“You’re not a stranger, Sara.”   
One eye open and she saw ice blue eyes right in front of herself. The light from her living room was enough to see.   
“No, I’m not.” What had she done? She wasn’t drunk, she couldn’t blame the alcohol. Yes, she didn’t want to go home alone but she hadn’t planed to go home like this. With this company. What did happen?  
Dancing. She remembered Frankie goes to Hollywood and their song ‘Relax’, hands on her waist, a hot body moving closer to her, lips on her neck, lips next to her ear.   
“Let’s go home.” So husky, so full of promises, so full of lust.   
“What makes you think I want to go home with you?”  
“You don’t want to go home alone tonight, I can see that.”  
“No, I don’t. But who said I want to go home with you?”  
“You don’t?” Lips on her neck, kissing her softly, hands running gently over body, a hot body moving so close to her that they moved like one on the dance floor.   
Relax don't do it when you want to to go to it. Relax don't do it when you want to come. Relax don't do it when you want to suck to it. Relax don't do it when you want to come. Come-oh oh oh.  
Did she want it? Her head wasn’t sure but her body was very sure. Sara felt the lust, she felt the desire, she felt these hands and the lips. Let’s go home? Right at the moment home sounded too far away for her. But they managed, Sara couldn’t really remember how, but it worked out.   
“Neither are you.”  
“No bounds, no strings attached.”   
“No.”   
“So, do you want me to leave?”  
“No, I don’t. You’re no stranger, there’s no need to pretend you are. Stay if you want.”  
“I guess I’d like to.”   
Time to regret was later, right now she was too tired, too satisfied and too busy to wipe the dirty grin out of her face. These night ended definitely in another way than she had planed or imagined. 

Monday evening

When Sara woke up she was alone and the place next to her was empty. No bounds, no strings attached. That was the deal so she wouldn’t complain about it.   
Perro was on her blanket, purring and if Sara wouldn’t know that he can’t see her, she’d say, he was watching her. Gata was in front of the bed, looking a little bit disappointed. Sara was late with their dinner and a walk.   
“Give me ten minutes, honey.” She got out of bed and went straight to her shower. The warm water did the rest of the wake up plan and Sara left the shower with a smile. A great night, a good morning and now it was time to continue the positive things. Taking Gata out with her bike, getting some Thai food for dinner and working an interesting case.   
With a smile on her face Sara entered the break room a few hours later.   
“What’s wrong with you?”  
“Nothing Greg.”  
“You’re smiling.”  
“You don’t like seeing me smiling?”  
“I love to see you smiling, I wish I’d be the reason why you smile.”  
“You are always a reason to smile for me, Greggo.” She bopped his side. “One of the best reasons to smile, one of the best reasons to come to work, one of my favorite colleagues.”  
“You scare me.”  
“I know, I enjoy that.”  
“If we get a case together, I’ll scare you right back.”  
“You can try but you won’t succeed.”   
“Wanna bet?”  
“With you? Always.”  
“You two sometimes behave like children.” Cath said.  
“We are children, deep in our hearts. That’s why our hearts are so clean.”  
“Did you take any drugs, Greg?”  
“No.”  
“He’s cute when he talks like that.”   
“Say goodbye to the cute boy, you won’t work with him.” Grissom came with the new cases in the room.   
“Oh and he wanted to scare me.”  
“He can leave that to the ghost.”  
“Which ghost?”  
“Your favorite one. Looks like the ghost found another victim, it’s been quite busy.”  
“There’s another body in the house?”  
“Yes. You can go on working on your old case.”   
“Lovely.” Why did she has to go back to this case? Greg was into stuff like ghosts, he could go on with that case.   
Not that happy with her old case she drove back to the Ghost House. Back in the desert again, back in a house without any electricity. The perfect place to be at night.   
This time David’s car was in front of the house and he was in the library. Next to him, a little higher than David, was a young man; hanging from the ceiling.   
“Hey David.”  
“Oh hi Sara. Your ghost found another victim.”  
“Looks like the poor sheet is busy. Tell me David, when ghosts are supposed to be immaterial how can they kill you? I mean, you can’t touch them, your hands go right through them, how can they touch you?”  
“You never watched ‘Ghost’ with Patrick Swazy? They have to concentrate and then they can touch you and whatever they want after a little bit of practicing. It would have taken the ghost a lot energy to hang this man but I’m sure it has enough practice and was fine.”  
“Am I really the only one who doesn’t thing that ghosts – if they exist – kill people?”  
“I believe what doc Robbins will find out, my first guess is, death by strangulation. The liver temperature is 95 degrees, he’s not that long dead.”  
“Who found him?”  
“A real-estate-broker. He’s outside, talking to the cops.”  
“Ben Benson?”  
“Quite young, I can’t tell you his name, sorry.”  
“Arrogant?”  
“Aren’t they all arrogant?”  
“True.” Sara started to take photos. A ghost that killed somebody by hanging for the second time. Uncle Sam was busy, he killed his brother the same way like this victim and Barney Lennox and Casper White died of fear or heart attack. Seems like he had his favorite ways to kill. If you wanted to believe in this story.   
“Can we bring him out?”  
“Yeah, I think so.” She stopped for a moment. “David, when you came in, who has been in here before?”  
“The witness and the detective. Why?”  
“I’m thinking of shoe prints. It will be difficult to separate the old ones from the new ones but I’ll try it. I don’t buy this ghost story, whoever put this guy up there was alive. A human. And humans leave traces behind. They don’t glide through the room.”  
“Not the ones I know; beside my mother-in-law, she glides beyond everything. At least the acts like that.”   
Sara had to chuckle. The rope the man was hung with was tied to the luster. To reach that you needed some kind of ladder, a chair, anything high enough to make you touch the ceiling, that was over seven foot high. More close to eight foot. If the killer used something from the house there would be traces.   
“The name of the victim is Tim Hart, he wanted to buy the house.” Sofia came in the room.   
“House owner do live dangerous out here.”   
“Want-to-be house owner. I talked to Ben Benson, he found the body two hours ago. Tim Hart had asked to have a look at the house, he wanted to stay in here for a night and if he was sure, the house is haunted, he wanted to buy it. He read an article about the death of Casper White and was immediately interested in the house. A real ghost house, not a fake. Looks like he had to pay a high price for his enthusiasm.”  
“Ghosts don’t kill - even if the exist.”  
“We’ve got four dead bodies in this house, all after uncle Sam died in here.”  
“Two hung themselves, two had the problem that their hearts had a failed. Did you see a note when you came in?”  
“No.”  
“He wanted to buy the house, he wanted to stay a night here, you don’t ask to stay in a haunted house for a night if you want to commit suicide.”  
“You might get famous this way.”  
“Did the lovely real-estate broker tell you something about the victim?”  
“He didn’t know much, the victim must have a little shop in the city about occultism. He said, if this is a real ghost house, he wants to move his shop to here to be really connected with the other side.”  
“They’re all nuts.”  
“Open-minded.”  
“Whatever. You’re here to protect or to serve?”  
“Both.” Sofia smiled. “But I can’t help you yet, I need to do some phone calls, get some background about the victim and I’d like to talk to Misses Lennox again. She won’t be available tonight, do you want to come with me tomorrow? Around three in the afternoon?”  
“Yeah, sounds good. Maybe she got another letter and kept it this time.”  
“Not when the letter said, it would burn itself after a certain time.”  
“Right. I’ll process the room and work my way from here to the kitchen, living room and then upstairs. Feel free to join me whenever you feel like it and have some spare time. Otherwise, I’ll take my time, I don’t think there’s something upstairs. Whoever killed him, killed him here. Why hanging him here when he was killed anywhere else?”  
“For the myth. Misses Lennox father hung himself here, you can’t change history.”  
“The history book on the shelf is always repeating itself.”  
“Let’s hope this isn’t our waterloo, Anni-Frid.”  
“Isn’t she the brunette?”  
“No, that’s Agnetha . You need some coaching about ABBA.”  
“Looks like. I can’t know everything. Give me a call if you need some help.”  
“I’ll do that.” 

“Tim Hart was specialist in making a connection between families and their dead members. He offered to talk to them, asking question for you and translating the answers the dead ones gave him.” Sofia was back with a little notepad.   
“Like: Honey, I can’t find my socks, where did you put them?” Sara had dusted the library for prints, she couldn’t find any but she was sure, there were some traces of a ladder under the luster. It was hard to tell because there were still the prints of her and Sofia from the first dead body and the new ones from today, but she had something, that definitely didn’t look like a shoeprint. It looked like a print of one these little stepladders.   
“He’s a Whoopi Goldberg.”  
“I beg your pardon?”  
“The movie ‘Ghost’ with Whoopi Goldberg as a medium. She’s pretending she can contact the dead ones and then suddenly Patrick Swazy appears in her shop he can really talk to her. Creeps the shit out of her.”  
“I think I’ll have to watch this movie, David mentioned it before.”  
“When you rent that one, get all the Ghostbusters movies too. You might learn something from these guys, be like them.”  
“When you’ll be my Slimer.”  
“That’s mean, Sara.”  
“I know that why it feels so good. So our vic was making money with lying to people. Plenty of reasons and suspects to piss off as soon as they found out he was lying and I bet a lot of did. What a great motive, unfortunately the place of death sucks. Why killing him here? It’s easier to kill him in his shop. I doubt he told everybody he’d stay the night here.”  
“He is working alone there.”  
“Reading the article, thinking it’s a new way to make money. Come to the Ghost House, the place ghosts meet. Meet your wife, husband, mother, father here, get connected, feel them, get all the unanswered questioned answered. You can make a hell lot of money with this stuff if you’re clever.”  
“Yeah, enough people pay for something like that. Somebody else with the same idea? Killing for the killing position?” Sara asked.  
“Hart hadn’t bought it yet, you offer some more money and get the house, no reason to kill for it.”  
“I thought Misses Lennox doesn’t want to sell it anymore anyway.”  
“She hasn’t called Ben Benson yet and this guy is very happy about all the interest in the house. He might be shocked at the moment, when the new article is in the papers, he’ll be waiting for some crazy people who wants to own a house with an own ghost. Who wants pets if you can have a real ghost?”  
“I prefer my pets.”  
“Yeah, there’re special.”  
“Sure they are. Why was Benson here?”  
“He wanted to get the keys. Hart took them from the office, Benson came here before he went home. Hart was supposed to leave the house in the morning, telling Benson if he wanted the house or not. Benson said, Hart left around four o’clock, Benson was here around nine, he worked long and didn’t find the house. He has never been here before. The broker, who got the house in the first time, is retired and Benson got the file. He came here, the door was open, he goes in, walks in the living room, kitchen to find Hart hanging from the ceiling. He checked for a pulse, called 911 and waited outside.”  
“At least he didn’t mess up the scene too much. There seems to be some brain left under all his slime.”  
“You really like him, don’t you?”  
“I love slimy people, yes. Can I have your opinion on something?”  
“Sure.”  
“I’ve found this here.” Sara pointed to what she thought looked like a print of a stepladder. “It’s under the luster, it reminds me of a stepladder…”  
“…and it makes perfect sense to be there since the luster is too high to reach it without help and ghost don’t exist.”  
“Your sharp mind is always amazing. Yes.”  
“Can be. Is there a second print? There should be another one like this if somebody used a stepladder here.”  
“I couldn’t find another one, but we walked in here at the first murder, you, me, Benson, David and his helper walked in here, it could be destroyed by us. The old problem of the CSI, when we come to the scene, too many people have messed it up.”  
“If you want to tell me you want to come to the scene the next time before my men and I’ve cleared it, forget it. Protect the CSI is a high priority.”  
“Protect the evidence should be one too.”  
“The highest one for a CSI. I am a detective, in case you forgot.”  
“Actually I do forget that sometimes. You seem to be too smart and useful to be wasted as a detective.”  
“I won’t tell that my colleagues.” Sofia laughed. 

Sara didn’t find a stepladder in the house. She tried chairs but they didn’t look like the print she had found under the luster.   
“Got something?”  
“No.” Sara took the coffee Sofia offered her. “I searched the whole house, no stepladder, nothing that looked like it was used here. You think the killer took the stepladder with them?”  
“You’re the one who goes for a killer I’m with the ghost.”  
“I really hope you’re kidding me.”  
“I’ve no other chance, that we’re open to all sides. You stick to the science I take care of the supernatural. But if we go the killer way, two questions: did the killer take the stepladder from here? It’s a dusty place, there must a place where the ladder was before that’s not that dusty like the rest of the house or second question: did the killer bring his or her own stepladder? In that case, why did she or he know that Tim Hart was here? I’ve got some more questions for this setting.”  
“I stick to your second setting even if it brings more questions. Who knew that Hart was here?”  
“Benson.”  
“He has no reason to kill Hart, he wants the house sold. When take TOD and Benson’s work schedule, it doesn’t work out. He needed to be here two hours earlier.”  
“I’ll check if his colleagues can verified his alibi. But yeah, there’s no motive and there’s no vibe. I don’t get any vibe from this guy.”  
“Neither do I. So who else knew about Hart? Benson’s colleagues? Why should they kill Hart?”  
“I’ll run Hart, maybe there’s a connection between him and any of the guys at the real-estate office. An affair with a wife, trouble under neighbors, some complains, anything that will give us a motive.”  
“Run the whole office. Did the neighbors see anything?”  
“They saw Hart driving to here and Benson, no other car. The man who saw the other car a few days before can remember now it was a black Sedan. He saw one like that in a tv show. Since that day it hasn’t been seen by anybody nor can anybody remember that it was here before.”  
“Do you think the car exist?”  
“We found the print, I talked to some guys, none of them had heard of Casper White or the Ghost House and I didn’t have the feeling any of them was lying. Everybody starts as a rookie, our man could be without a rap sheet so far. Do you want me to check the other seventy five guys?”  
“It would be helpful to narrow that down.”  
“I’ll give them a call, when I get a wife that says they were out of town, I’ll put them at the end of the list.” Sofia rubbed her face. She hated this kind of investigation. Calling random people, making a decision on the phone if they were lying to her or not.   
“The thing is, the evening the car was seen, nothing happened. You had no witness who saw a car driving to here from the day White was killed until he was found and the only car who came here when Hart was killed, was Benson. Our killer doesn’t seem to drive this way. He must come from the other side, from the highway five miles down the desert or any other place.”  
“The wind will have destroyed all traces outside.”  
“I think so but I’ll have a look now.”  
“Do you want me to start with the names or do you need some help?”  
“It’s not your job to be out there looking for traces.”  
“I know and you can have an officer coming with you, that’s not the problem. The problem is you’re alone again on the case and it’s a big area. If I let you search alone you can only check a little area, not very thoughtful or you’ll need too much time. If I go with you, we can search the area faster and go back to other things. It’s past midnight I can’t make any phone calls anyway.”  
“Alright then have a look outside. I’ll get a map later and try to find ways to the closed streets. People do get sloppy, I’ll come back in daytime and look for some waste they might have thrown out of the window. DNA from a coke cup, a fingerprint from a burger paper, we had it all, we can have it again if we’re lucky.”  
“So far we weren’t blessed with luck in this case.”  
“The ghost didn’t kill you, aren’t you happy about that?” Sara grinned.  
“I don’t give the ghost any reason to kill me, you are the one who doesn’t believe. Be careful not to piss it off. I’m a good detective, but I’ve no idea how to protect you from a ghost. I can’t shoot it.”  
“Try harder to keep my safe, detective. I’m not here to make your job easy I’m here to find the evidence.”  
“I’m here to kick some asses, if you’re in my way, I’ll kick yours. So stay where you’re suppose to stay and don’t walk away again. I want you not more than twenty yards away from me.”  
“Or?” Sara grinned.  
“Or I’ll call an officer who’ll be right behind you all the time what will piss you off and annoys you like hell because you can focus on your job then.” Sofia smiled coy and looked innocent.  
“You really know how to annoy me, Curtis.” Sara took her kit, threw some gloves at Sofia and left the house not looking at the chuckling detective. 

Tuesday afternoon

“Misses Lennox, thank you very much for having some time for us.”  
“Something happened again, didn’t it?” Fear was written all over the face of the elderly woman when Sofia and Sara came in the room.  
“Yes.”  
“What?”  
“I’m afraid to tell you that there was another body found in your house.”  
“What? When?”  
“Yesterday.”  
“Why? Nobody was supposed to be in there.”  
“You didn’t tell your broker not to sell the house anymore, somebody was interested, wanted it because all the stories about the ghost, wanted to stay there for a night and got killed a few hours later.” Sofia and Sara had talked about the fact that the man was killed. They both didn’t want to support the story of the ghost. Sara, who didn’t believe and Sofia who couldn’t believe that there was a ghost killing people, had to look for a human killer not a ghost.   
“How did he die?”  
“Somebody hung him.” Sofia knew the woman would make the connection between this murder case and the hanging of her father.   
“Oh my dear Lord, like my father. Uncle Sam took another one.”  
“We don’t think this man was killed by a ghost.” Truth to be told they both didn’t think anybody had been killed by a ghost but for the sake of the old woman they’d stick a little bit to the story.   
“What? But…”  
“I found some evidence that whoever hung the victim used a stepladder. Ghosts don’t need stepladders, Misses Lennox.” Sara said calm.   
“Somebody killed an innocent in my house? A human killed somebody in my house?”  
“Yes Misses Lennox.”  
“Why?”  
“I…we think they did it because of the stories about the ghost. People will believe there’s a ghost and the ghost kills all the people. They try to get away with murder by using the ghost story.” Sara was sure it worked out for some people, but she wouldn’t closed the case because of a ghost story. She wasn’t scared in nights of full moon, she didn’t think any body left the grave at night to celebrate on the graveyard. These horror and fantasy stories entertained people for hundreds of years and for that time people tried to blame their felony on these fantasy creatures.   
“But the ghost killed my father and my husband.”  
Sara doubted that and she would have the possibility to prove that these two men died because somebody else killed them, she would prove that. But there was no way she’d get the bodies of these men and that anybody would authorize a second medical examination. After twenty years was not much left anyway.   
“Did you get any other message after the letter last week?” The letter they had never recovered. The letter the lab guys couldn’t use for any trace.   
“No. I’ve got a ghost trap now.” She pointed to a wind chime over her door. 

“A ghost chime? Why can’t we have a witness who…I don’t know. Who isn’t into this stuff.” Sara sighed when she and Sofia went into the lab.   
“Old people are more tempted to believe in supernatural things.”  
“You can’t take age as an excuse for everything.”  
“You can try.” Sofia grinned.  
“I don’t buy it. Do you want to come with me to doc Robbins? He should be done with the autopsy.”  
“Blood, guts and a brain on a plate? I’m your woman.” Unlike most homicide detectives Sofia had no problem being in the morgue or watching an autopsy. Thanks to her old job as a CSI she was used to things like that.   
“Sara, detective Curtis, what gives me the honor?” Doc Robbins greeted them.   
“I don’t believe Sara will tell me our man was killed by a ghost so I want to hear what you’ll say at first hand.”  
“No ghost uses a stepladder to hang a person – if ghosts would exist.” Sara rolled her eyes.   
“It’s up to you, doc. Who’s right?” Sofia smiled.   
“I can’t talk for the part if ghosts do exist or not, that’s above my knowledge. I can tell you this man wasn’t killed by a ghost. As far as I know ghosts don’t work with injections.”  
“Injections?” Now he had the full attention of both women.   
“Yes. I found a little injection mark right at his neck.” Doc Robbins moved the body a little bit so that Sara and Sofia could see the neck. With a loupe he showed them a tiny injection mark.   
“I didn’t see that when he was in the room.” Sara mumbled.  
“Nobody can blame you for that. It was under the rope and it’s almost impossible to see it without a loupe. I sent some blood and hair to tox. My guess he was drugged with something very heavy, something that made him helpless immediately. You put the rope around his neck, tie it to the luster and ready is your hanging body. No defensive wounds. Until tox is back I can’t rule out that whatever he got injected might have killed him. But I am with Sara, this isn’t the work of a ghost. This looks pretty human to me.”  
“It’s the second man who was claimed to hang himself in that room. The first one died twenty years ago.”  
“I can’t make an autopsy on tox after this time.”   
“I know. As a perfect match to our body of last week there was another man twenty years ago who died of a heart attack. A healthy man, not that old never woke up one morning. His widow says the ghost – her uncle Sam – killed them all.”  
“Uncle Sam killed some people, but I don’t think her uncle Sam killed the last two men. Is she a suspect?”  
“Not for the last two murder, not for her father who hung himself in the library twenty years ago and not for the death of uncle Sam, who also died twenty years ago in that house. There were three dead bodies within a few months.”  
“And the myth of a ghost was born.” Doc Robbins finished Sara’s conclusion.   
“Yes.”  
“Sofia, what do you think?”  
“I’m a little bit more open-minded, I’d never deny that there are ghosts around, maybe I’m not a scientist enough but I don’t think these men were killed by a ghost. If there would be a ghost in the house, why didn’t it chase Misses Lennox away? Or killed her? Why was she the only one who survived? Who gets a warning but nothing happens to her?”  
“How old is she?”  
“Over eighty.”  
“You think she’s the killer?”  
“I can’t see her hanging Tim Hart. She doesn’t have the physical strength. She needs a accomplice.”  
“Children? Grandchildren?”  
“They don’t have children.”  
“Any other closed relative? Who would help her doing something like that?”  
“We don’t have a motive.” Sara said. “The woman wanted to sell the house, two men who were interested in it, are dead. She said, she got a message not to sell the house, it looks like somebody doesn’t want her to sell. The questions are: who and why? Who might have some interested in having the house empty and why? There was nothing special in it, everything was old, nothing looked younger than forty years. Hell, there’s not even electricity. No reason to break in, no reason to take anything. I’m not into antiques but nothing there looked like you can make money out of it.”  
“Five dead bodies, twenty years, no motive. You hit the jackpot, Sara.”  
“Looks like.”  
“And you don’t have to share it, as I heard you’re working this case alone.”  
“I’ve got a very talented part-time CSI with me.” Sara smirked at Sofia. “When she isn’t believing in ghosts she’s really helpful.”  
“I thought so.”  
“I got a compliment from Sara. I have to mark this day in my calendar as a special day.”  
“Yeah, use something bright, that won’t happen again.”  
“And there were are, right in the middle of one of your famous fights.” Doc Robbins laughed.  
“If everybody would fight like we do no country would need an army.” Sofia said.   
“I’ve no time for fights, I need to find a serial killer. There must be any indication at, in or around the house. It’s the only thing that’s consist and didn’t change. Twenty years, five murders, the same house. Somewhere must be a hint.”  
“We’ve got two more hours of daylight after that we can stop looking around. Come on, I’ll be with you, protect the CSI.”  
“You can serve the CSI too by wearing some gloves and helping me to find this clue.”  
“I’ll do that too. See doc, no fights, only great teamwork.”  
“Indeed.” Doc Robbins smiled. Great teamwork that sometimes explored. In his eyes the most successful relationships were explosive. 

Monday night/early morning

There was no hint, no evidence, nothing that could help Sara and Sofia to find a killer. They worked another shift on the case and after that Brass and Grissom pulled both away to other, more important and recent cases.   
Five nights later they met again and again it was again the house. This time Grissom was with Sara.   
“Male body in the hallway.” Sofia was in front of the door. “An old friend of us, Sara.”  
“Who?”  
“Ben Benson.”  
“The real-estate guy? Don’t tell me he wanted to stay a night in here.”  
“I don’t know. If he intended to do so we have to find some clothes of him. I cleared the house but I didn’t see anything.”  
“Did you look for it?”  
“After I cleared the room, yes, I took a look. No signs of anybody.”  
“Your ghost is really busy. Seems like there’s no quiet afterlife.” Grissom opened the door. Only a yard behind it was Ben Benson lying on the floor.   
“He wasn’t hung, he wasn’t scared to death. Sara, do you know any ghost with a gun?”  
“I don’t know any ghost at all, Grissom.” Sara got down next to the body. A bullet hole was right in the middle of the forehead of the man. Benson’s eyes were wide open and full of surprise and shock.   
“I suppose you didn’t find a gun anywhere either, Sofia?”  
“No, I’m sorry Grissom.”  
“Who found him?” Sara asked. Who was in the middle of the night in this house?   
“Anonymous call about an hour ago. There’re working on tracking it down.”  
“Ghosts that call the police. This is really a special ghost.” Grissom took some photos of the scene. A ghost with a telephone and after there was no electricity in this house the ghost must have had a cell phone. A new generation of ghosts? One day they’d wear I-pods while they were gliding through houses and all you could see was the light of the I-pod.   
“Good morning. Oh we’re one more this time.” David smiled at Grissom.  
“Yeah this ghost gets a little bit too busy. And it started to shoot people.”  
“Ghosts don’t shoot people.” David said.  
“Ghosts don’t exist.” Sara sighed.   
“I’ll go down the street, wake up the neighbors and ask them if they’ve seen anything.”  
“Whoever killed Benson came through the desert, they don’t come down the street. There had been too much interest in this house, it would be stupid to drive from there to here, they are not stupid, they’re damn good.” Sara got up. “I’ll have a look outside, maybe I can get another tire mark.” No need for her to stay here, Grissom would work the house, some fresh eyes. Maybe he saw the hint, she was sure that was there, but she didn’t find it.   
“I don’t want you to wander around alone, Sara.” Sofia stopped her when they were outside. “There’s only one officer at the moment, wait until there’s another one, please.”  
“Sofia, if I wait I’ll lose my evidence, the wind doesn’t make a break only because we could use a break.”  
“You’re such a stubborn pain in the ass.” Sofia grumbled.   
“Whoever killed Benson is long gone and won’t sit somewhere in the desert waiting for a CSI to come along and shot them.”  
“The chances that anybody is out there waiting for you are under five percent.”  
“See.” Sara wanted to go but Sofia grabbed her arm.  
“That are six percent too less.”  
“You mean five percent. You can’t get more than one hundred percent.”  
“For your safety I want more than one hundred percent, I don’t let you go with only one hundred.” Sofia whispered.   
Sara felt a something like a hot shiver running through her body. What was wrong with Sofia? The detective had never been that anxious about Sara’s security. Yes Sofia took care of her, she made sure Sara wasn’t in danger, told her off when the investigator walked away at crime scene, following the evidence without an officer by her side but there had never been a comment like that one.  
Sofia cleared her throat. “I’ll come with you, the neighbors will be asleep anyway, it’s four in the morning.”  
“Alright.” Sara took another second to observe Sofia. “Are you alright?”  
“Yes. Why?”  
“You seem to be very concerned.”  
“Somebody killed three people in the last few days I don’t like that. Hearing you walking around alone in the dark, looking for this person is nothing that makes me feel comfortable. If I wouldn’t mind you being here alone I think I took the wrong job.”  
“I think you picked the perfect job for you. Come on my serving bodyguard, let’s find the case breaker and get famous as the new Ghostbusters of Las Vegas.”  
“I didn’t know you’re into fame, Sidle.” Sofia chuckled.  
“Bowie 1975, I love it.”  
“You’re too young.”  
“It’s the first song I can remember and then there was the remix 1990. I’ll won’t comment on that one.” Sara smirked coy.  
“A dirty little secret of Sara Sidle? One day you have to tell me about ‘Fame 1990’, investigator.”  
“Not your business, detective. Not your business.”

“Our ghost shoots and makes phone calls, it also walks like a human.” Grissom greeted Sara and Sofia when they came back.  
“It walks? You’ve got a print?”  
“I’m afraid it’s still a smart ghost, it had some protection but yes, there’s a print. Not too far away from the stairs outside. We’ll need a shoe impression of everybody who was here tonight, compare them and all the impressions of the last two cases here.”  
“So it could be from one of us.” Sara was disappointed. Grissom had sounded like he was sure they had a lead and it was nothing more than a hope.   
“There’s no reason why one of us was walking there.”  
“Looking for evidence. We walked a lot around here.”  
“Talking about walking around. Where have you been?”  
“In the desert. We’ve got an impression of a tire and if you ask me, it looks like it’s the same car type we were looking for the last time. Different spot, definitely new. This Sedan has something to do with the house.”  
“We’ll ask Misses Lennox if she knows anybody with an old Sedan. I’ll get some picture of the internet in case she doesn’t know what kind of car we’re talking about.” Sofia wrote herself a memo. “I called the nursing home, we can see her around nine in the morning. Are you prepared for a double, Sara?”  
“Do I have a choice?”  
“No. I’ll take the house, you two can run the evidence and visit the witnesses.” Grissom said.  
“Yeah, fresh eyes. Will you stay here?”  
“Yes, I want to search the house in daylight.”  
“Okay, I’ll take the evidence to the lap and meet you in front of the nursing home at nine, Sofia.”  
“Good as gold. I’ll get us an appointment with Benson’s colleagues. He isn’t married, his parents live in Kansas, I’ll give them a call. It’s about time to lift the sheet and find out who’s hiding under it playing ghost.” Sofia got her shades of her pocket. The first signs of the sun were in the east, when she arrived in the city there’d be sunshine all over the city. Another sunny day in deadly spooky Sin City.

Monday morning

“You’ll never believe who is the ghost.” Sofia said when she came in the lab at eight in the morning.   
“You found out who’s the killer?” Did Sofia solve the case in less than three hours? While Sara was working the evidence.   
“I can tell you who called the police last night. Misses Lennox. I listened to the call, recognize the voice and a prove of the numbers told me I was right. She called the police. The only one who lived in the house without dying. The one who’s always talking about the ghost, curses and all these things. The lovely grandmother who lost her uncle, father and husband.”  
“She didn’t look like a serial killer to me.” Sara was baffled.   
“They usually don’t look like serial killer in reality. But yes, she never clicked for me either. Lets see what she says to this.”  
“Got your gun loaded?”  
“Are you looking for my protection, Sara?” Sofia had to smile a bit even if this was a serious situation.  
“I’ve plans for the weekend, I don’t need time in hospital and there’s no spare time for a little bit of death.”  
“Another interesting story about you? You’re full of interesting stories today, Sara. I think I’ve to invite you to…lunch or a very late breakfast, maybe even my famous Italian pizza to hear all these stories.”  
“Still not your business, detective.”  
“What a shame. Come on, let’s surprise the lady by being early. I don’t like the idea she might take off because she knows we’ll be there at nine.”  
“I drive.”  
“Who says we’ve got the same route?”  
“Nursing home, real-estate office, back to the lab. Don’t try to play me, Curtis.”  
“I’d never to do so, Love.”  
“Shut up and move it.” Sara furrowed her brows. Love? One more comment like that and she’d hurt Sofia.   
Without talking but with a smile on their faces they drove to the nursing home.   
“We’d like to see Misses Lennox.” Sofia demanded when they were in front of the desk.   
“She’s upstairs, visiting hours are between nine and twelve.”  
“We’re pretty flexible.” She hold her badge up. “So flexible that we want to talk to her NOW.”  
“You…”  
“I know the room, I know my way.” Sofia turned and started to walk.   
“Isn’t it my job to be the charming one?”  
“I thought I show you what I’ve learnt from you. And I hate it when people don’t do what I want after I’ve showed them the badge. Why do they think I’m here? I’m here on police business, for cause I can wait for a few hours, all the criminals have time, why should I hurry?”  
“You spend too much time with me.” Sara laughed.   
“Tell my boss who sent me to your crime scene.”  
“Actually you were there first. I came to your crime scene. I’m sorry for that.”  
“I’m not, I’m happy about that. So, I’m the bad ass and you’re the nice one?”  
“She’ll be confused after all you’re the one who believes in ghosts.”  
“Yes when they are cute and friendly. This one kills too many people for my taste.” Sofia knocked on the door of Misses Lennox.   
“Yes please.”  
“Ghost or not here we come.” Sofia opened the door. Misses Lennox was sitting on her bed, reading a book.  
“Oh detective, I thought you’d be here at nine. Or did I lose myself in the book?”  
“No, it’s not nine yet.” Sofia observed the woman. She didn’t look like she was strong enough to hang anybody. She was too small, too fragile to carry a man like Benson.   
“Oh.”  
“Misses Lennox did you leave this house yesterday?”  
“What? No. No, I can’t leave it. I can’t walk that good.”  
“A taxi?”  
“I didn’t call a taxi? Where should I go anyway?”  
“Home?”  
“This is my home, detective.”  
“I mean your house, Misses Lennox.”  
“Why should I go there? I left there because of the ghost.”  
“Yeah sure.”   
“What are you trying to say?” Usually people got angry when they found out somebody was suggesting something. Misses Lennox became anxious.   
“Did you send anybody to your old house yesterday, Misses Lennox?”  
“No, I didn’t…”  
“Do you have any connection to your house? Did you install cameras there?”  
“No…what are you saying? I don’t want to talk to you when you are like this. What happened to you? I call the nurse…”  
“You call the nurse and I let you bring down to the station in black and white, Misses Lennox.” Sara had to force herself to stay calm and in the back. She didn’t know Sofia could become that rough on the old woman.   
“I didn’t do anything wrong.” The voice of the lady trembled.   
“Don’t lie to me.”  
“I don’t lie.”  
“Misses Lennox, as you may remember I am the nice one, Miss Sidle is the unkind one. So I am already really pissed off, how do you think does Miss Sidle feel? Shall she go on talking to you or will you simply tell me why you called to police last night without giving them your name the address where to find a body. You called around two in the morning.” Sara raised an eyebrow. Sofia used her to threaten an old woman. Was she so scary?   
“I…I…”  
“Yes?”  
“The ghost…”  
“Misses Lennox, there is not such a thing like a ghost in your house. A ghost doesn’t shoot anybody. They don’t own guns.”  
“Somebody got shot?”  
“Yes. A Colt Python.” Sara did intervention the conversation. She didn’t have the time to tell Sofia about that. “Misses Lennox, how did you know about the body?”  
“The ghost told me. It left a note.”  
“Did you burn the message again?”  
“It told me to destroy it.”  
“What did you do?”  
“I…my lighter was empty so I torn it apart and flushed it down the basin.” Sara sighed quietly. Not again. She could become a plumber after this case.  
“I’m afraid I’ve to have a look at your drains again.”  
“Okay.”  
Sara looked at Sofia. The detective had to go on with the interview Sara would try to rescue the message. At least it wasn’t burnt this time.   
“What did the ghost write to you?”  
“That somebody had died because I didn’t listen. I was still selling the house and somebody had to pay for me. It’s all my fault…” The old woman burst into tears.   
“Did you pull the trigger?”  
“No…”  
“Did you tell anybody to shoot the man?”  
“No.”  
“Then it’s not your fault. Why did you call 911 without telling the operator your name?”  
“I..I was scared…the ghost won’t like what I did. And I tried to call the real-estate broker this morning to tell him again to put my house down the list but he didn’t answer the phone.”  
“He’s dead.”  
“What?”  
“He was the one who got shot last night in your house, Misses Lennox.”  
“Oh my Lord.”  
“Where was the note the ghost left you?”  
“On my bed.”  
“It was two in the morning, why did you wake up?”  
“I heard something, like a knock on my window. I turned on the light and saw the note on my blanket. I knew immediately it had been in my room again and…”  
“Call the nurse.”  
“What?”  
“Call the nurse. Now.”  
Confused Misses Lennox pressed the button above her bed.   
“Thanks. The note was on your bed and nobody was in your room.”  
“No, I was alone. I hope.”  
“Do you have a light sleep?”  
“No, I sleep pretty deep.”  
“So anybody could come in your room and you’re likely to go on sleeping.”  
“I lock my door every night, detective.”  
And Sofia was sure it wasn’t a problem to crack the lock. She could do it within seconds.   
“I’ve got the paper.” Sara pulled some little pieces of paper out of the drain.   
“May I use some of your stuff, Sara?”  
“Sure.”   
After a knock the door was opened and a nurse came in.   
“Misses Lennox?”  
“The detective wanted to talk to you, Miranda.”  
“Detective Curtis. Nurse Miranda, I need the security video of the last night and I need to talk to the people who live next, under and over Misses Lennox.”  
“All of them?”  
“The one exactly under and over and the one to the left and the right. Could you please arrange that for me? And I need the name and the number of the security man and of your staff of the last night.”  
“Okay I’ll see what I can do. Did something happen?”  
“Yes, something did happen.” Sofia waited until the nurse was out of the room, then she got herself some gloves out of Sara’s kit.   
“Misses Lennox, I’d like to test you for gunshot residue.”  
“What is that?”  
“When you fire a gun the powder of the gunshot will be all over your hands, clothes.”  
“Do you think I shot a gun?”  
“Let me say it this way: in the last twenty years six people died in your house, you’re the only one I know who has spent there a night and is still alive. I’m wondering why that is. Please open your hands, palms up.”  
“Me? Shoot somebody?” Misses Lennox opened her hands and Sofia ran a cotton bud over the hands of the woman. With a second one she tested the glasses and the hair of the woman too. Sara didn’t mention any fingerprints so it was likely that the shooter wore gloves.   
“I think I’ve got everything.” Sara started to build the drain back together.   
“I’ll see the security man as soon as we’re done here. Misses Lennox I need you to stay in your room, I’ll come back to you later.”  
“Do I need a lawyer?”  
“Only if you did something wrong.”  
“You said it was wrong that I didn’t tell them my name.”  
“You don’t need a lawyer for something like that.”  
“Not?”  
“No. Do you own a gun? Or did you husband? Your father?”  
“My father had a gun, yes.”  
“Do you inherit it?”  
“I…I think my husband took it but I can’t remember that he ever used it.”  
“What kind of gun was it?”  
“I’ve no idea, I’m not interested in guns.”  
“There’s a photo of the gun in my kit, Sofia.” Sara informed from under the basin. “Left side.”  
“Thanks.” Of course Sara had a photo. She was organized and prepared. Another reason why Sofia liked working with the brunette.   
She got the photo out of a file and showed it Misses Lennox.  
“That looks like the gun my father owned, yes.”  
“A .356 Magnum.”  
“Maybe.”  
“They were manufactured in 1955. Pretty old, a collector would pay some money for it if it’s in a good condition.”   
“When you say so.”  
“Where’s the gun of your father?”  
“I can’t tell you. I didn’t take it to here, can’t recall the last time I saw it. I think it’s somewhere in the house.”  
“We didn’t find a gun when we searched the house.”  
“Maybe my husband threw it away. I can’t imagine he did but if you searched the house and didn’t find a gun it must be thrown away.”  
“Did your uncle Sam own a gun?”  
“I’ve no idea. I never saw him with a gun. Can’t you find out who owns the gun.”  
“That’s not that easy.” Sara got up, cleaned her hands on her pants. “The serial number was scratched away. Whoever used it didn’t want us to find out who is the owner.” The guys in the lab were working on a the gun, they’d try to recover the serial number. The other question was, if the gun was listed. It was old, the chances nobody registered it, were high.   
“Could you check the lock at the door? I’m sure our ghost used a the door.”  
“Sure.”  
“You don’t believe there is a ghost, do you detective?”  
“I won’t say there are no ghosts but I’m sure your ghost is a human. Somebody who killed three people within the last weeks. And maybe your husband and your father.”  
“Uncle Sam.”  
“I’m sure he was mad at your father but I doubt he was that mad that he came back as a ghost to kill your father, to talk him into hanging himself. And why should he kill your husband? There’re no reasons for all these things.” Sofia’s voice was friendly again.   
“Who would do that?”  
“We’re trying to find that out. Can you remember anybody your father or husband were fighting with? Any neighbors that made you problems?”  
“Not that I’m aware of it. We lived too far away to have any trouble with the neighbors, you know it’s a long trip down the streets. Two miles and back in the days we didn’t have a car first. My father bought his first car for my husband and me a few month he died. I don’t have a license and sold it when my husband died.”  
“How did you get your groceries?”  
“Oh, my neighbors bought them for me once a week. The Miltons. Really nice people. Their son used to play with my father. They were ‘working’ around the house for the whole day. Only God knows what they did. Dad probably sat in the shade drinking beer and smoking his cigars and little Stuart too and got in trouble for it with his mum later.”  
“I talked to all your neighbors, Misses Lennox, there was no Stuart.”  
“Oh well he must be now, what? Forty? He lives probably in the city. But he came along every now and then when I was still living in the house.”  
“Misses Lennox I’m afraid to tell you but somebody broke into your room.” Sara started to take some photos. “There are scratches that are not from the key. I think that explains how the letters ended on your bed.”  
“You mean, there was a person in my room last night?”  
“Yes, I think so.”  
“Oh my god.” The woman became pale.   
“I’ll talk to the security man, Misses Lennox. He’ll put in a new lock, Miss Sidle will take the old one and you can ask for a security chain. Nobody can come in when you’ve got a chain in front of your door.” Sofia soothed the woman.   
“You need to take my lock?”  
“Yes Ma’am. It won’t take long. That’s easier than the drain.” And less dirty and wet. Sara was happy that Grissom was with her on the case, it looked like the case got bigger. From the Ghost House to the nursing home.   
“This person who came in last night, he could have killed me.”  
“He didn’t have the intention to kill you.”  
“He was in here the first time too.”  
“Yes.”  
“Why didn’t he kill me?”  
“I think he wants you to be his messenger. He plays the role of the ghost and you support that role pretty good. You’re useful for him. Or her. We don’t know if it’s a man or a woman.” But Sofia’s money was on a man. At least two men.   
“I think I want to move to another place.”  
“You should consider that.” Sofia looked at Sara who had built out the lock and bagged it. “Done?”  
“Yes.”  
“I’ve got something else for you, come on. Misses Lennox, please stay here, we’ll be back soon.”  
“I didn’t know you’re my boss now.” Sara said when they walked side by side down the hallway.   
“I’m sorry I didn’t mean to be bossy.”  
“What do you want me to do?”  
“Give me a smile.”  
Sara looked skeptical. “What?”  
“Give me a smile so that I know you’re not mad at me for being bossy.”  
“I’m not more annoyed than usual.”  
“That’s my CSI.” In Sara language that means she was fine. “Could you listen to the conversation or were you too concentrated on your drain?”  
“I did both. I can multitask.”  
“Of course. Misses Lennox said something hit her window what woke her up. I think somebody threw something to the window…”  
“And this something was touched by someone who could become a one if he didn’t wear gloves.”  
“You think it’s a he?”  
“So do you. At least one.”  
“I’m glad we share the same opinion. Yes I think there’re at least two men working on this spooky killer story. When you have a look around the window I’ll check with security and the staff before we can talk to everybody who sleeps around the window. Maybe we should even talk to everybody who lives on the same floor like Misses Lennox. All we need is a senior with a weak bladder who meets on their way to toilette a new nurse or a handyman working night time.”  
“I like your sharp mind.” Sara grinned.  
“I like yours too. And your knowledge of building apart drains, locks and whatever you get delivered.”  
“I loved Lego bricks when I was a child. The advanced stuff, with some technique.”  
“No surprise here.” 

“Tell me why people install surveillance cameras if they don’t record what happens?” Sofia came to Sara in the garden. She had a talk with the security man. No records of the what the cameras saw. She had thought after her last visit they might have changed something; they didn’t. Sofia got nothing from them.   
“God moves in mysterious ways.”  
“He’s moving in circles.”  
“So did I and found this.” Sara hold up a few stones she had bagged. “The gardener here is pretty good, I doubt he left these stones, they’re too big for the flowerbed. I matched them to the stones over there.” She pointed to the other side of the garden.   
“Somebody moved them from there to here.”  
“Somebody who could also have access to the premises via the mall behind the bushes. Seven foot, solid stone, not too difficult to climb and – you’ll like that – when I was wandering around there, I found shoeprints. They’re drying right now, size nine and ten, men sport shoes. I talked to the gardener, he’s the only one who takes care of the garden and he always wears boots.”  
“You’re terrific, Sara.”  
“Thanks.” Sara smirked.   
“You got a lot of evidence and I’ve got nothing.”  
“You sent me here, you can have the lion’s share of the success.”  
“You found the stones in front of the window, the shoeprint and ruled out the gardener, it’s all yours, Baby.”  
“It’s investigator for you, detective.”  
“I’m sorry. Do you want to go on here or do you want to come back in with me, talking to the people?”  
“I’ll have another look around, get the plaster casts and meet you later inside.”  
“Alright. Good luck.”  
“Likewise.”   
Sara made the decision to finish with the area under the window and went back to her plaster casts. The traces two people left went from the lawn to the wall. Seven foot, too high to simply jump over it but when you’re two and sporty, you push the first one up the wall and in return the second one gets pulled up the wall. Jump down the other side and off you go. Not too difficult. The distance between here and the building was approximate twenty yards, no problems to throw a stone that far. Maybe they missed the window, it was dark. Woke up somebody else? Somebody who doesn’t believe in ghosts, doesn’t have a note on the bed and looks out of the window? A witness?   
Talking about witnesses, she had to call Grissom. She and Sofia could never make it to the real-estate office, they needed back-up.  
“Gil, it’s me, Sara. We’re still at the nursing home and I don’t believe we’ll make it to the real-estate office in time.”  
“Sofia called me already, you’ve got a break in, the ghost became human.”  
“Yes.” Of course Sofia called Grissom.   
“I’m on my way to there, take all the time you need. Did you find anything so far?”  
“I recovered the note, torn apart and wet but we should get something from it. Two shoeprints in front of the wall and the gardener claims he’s the only one who walks in the bushes and he wears boots and has size twelve. I think our ghost is in two bodies, male from the size of the shoes. I recovered stones, likely thrown in front of the window of Misses Lennox.”  
“If they threw them without gloves we’ve got prints.”  
“That’s why I bagged them. Misses Lennox father had the same gun Ben Benson was shot with and she has no idea where the gun is. She didn’t take it to the nursing home and we didn’t find it in the house, where it should be.”  
“I’ll let Greg come in earlier and search the house again.”  
“Three on the case?”  
“A ghost on a killer run makes the Sheriff shaky.”  
“He’s afraid of ghosts?”  
“Apparently.”  
“I can go back to the house when we’re done here after you take over for us in town.”  
“You’ll go home after you left the evidence in the lab. You’re working a double again and Ecklie will kill us both one day when he realizes how much overtime you’ve accumulated.”   
“Ecklie can…”  
“Sara, don’t say it.”  
“…can count my overtime and give me a lovely raise.” Sara smiled. Not exactly what she had in mind to say first but not too bad either.   
“You can ask him, will give him a good laugh.”  
“And me the comment that I can be glad that I’m still working here because if he could make the decision he’d fired me years ago. Only my supervisor was even more stubborn than I am and managed with some magic that I could stay.”  
“I’m happy about that every day. I’d miss you if you wouldn’t be here.” Sara’s heart made a little jump. Words like that were rare in her life and when they came from Grissom they were extraordinary special. They weren’t a couple anymore but her feelings for him were still very strong.   
“I’m glad that I could stay too. I better go on working, overtime is running and my supervisor might find out I spent too much time on the phone.”  
“Sounds like he’s a really nasty boss.”  
“He doesn’t bug me. I’ll see you later.”  
“Good luck.” She could her him chuckle.   
Grissom was on his way to the real-estate office that would give her and Sofia more time to work on the scenes here. Sara was sure there was more evidence at this place than at the house.   
The question she was working on in her mind now was, which way did they take to come here? Straight through the lawn? Hidden close to the bushes? It was the backside of the building, nobody was here in the middle of the night. And if they left the premises via the wall, did they enter it the same way? In that case there had to be more prints. Jumping from the wall down would leave a deeper print. Around the area they’ve left was nothing so Sara started to walk next to the wall. Small bushes and shrubs made it difficult to stay close to the wall but when she couldn’t enter it from here it was unlikely that somebody else jumped down and walked through it.   
It took her over fifteen minutes until she was back where she had started. No prints but she had a clue where they’d entered. The parking area was sealed and was the best place to come in. Why didn’t they leave the same way? Was somebody out? Did the security guard was in that area so that they to leave at the other side? Or were they simply too lazy to walk from the back – and Misses Lennox window – to the front? If that the case, their laziness gave Sara some evidence and the killers got sloppy. Who made one mistake makes another one.   
“I’m sorry, do you know if the security guard at night has his special times to walk around?” She asked the security man when she walked in the building.  
“He’s suppose to check the premises every hour, yes. Not on the dot but, I think he goes between quarter past and half past.”  
Misses Lennox said she woke up around two, it was possible that the men couldn’t leave through the parking lot because of the guard.   
“Is he walking around the whole building?”  
“No, just the front side, the parking lot.”  
No security at the back, perfect for the men.   
“I noticed two emergency exits. How can you open them?”  
“From the inside. They are not locked but as soon as you open them, the alarm goes off.”   
“Mind if I take a look at them?”  
“Be my guest. Just don’t set the alarm off, please.”  
“I try not to.” Sara grinned.   
She had one special emergency door in mind, the one at the back. When you leave Misses Lennox room, walk down the hallway to the right you came to the emergency stairs. The perfect way for the men to leave the building.   
Sara let her eyes run over the door and the area around it and laughed short and quiet. Too easy. Only three yards away from the door was the fuse box. With gloves she opened the unlocked box and scanned the wires. One was disconnected.   
“Ten bucks you’re the wire for the door.” In a plastic case at the door was the instruction manual for the fuse box. It couldn’t be easier. She browsed through the pages and found out, she was right. The wire for the door was enabled.   
“No security in this house.” She took some photos and walked to the door. Hoping for sloppy killer she dusted the handle and lifted the prints. No recording of the area, the fuse box unlocked with the instruction manual next to the door, why didn’t they set up a sign outside, telling everybody here was no security at all. She bet the house let the people pay a high price for a security standard they didn’t have.   
“Tell me you’ve got something that will lead us immediately to the killer.” Sofia said. Sara had waited until the detective was finished with one of her witnesses to enter the room.   
“I’ve got a lot of things, but no killer. You?”  
“They all slept like babies. I bet they have something in their dinner that makes them sleep so the nurse on night shift has an easy shift.”  
“I checked around the wall, no signs of anybody jumping down the wall so I think our guys came in at the parking lot area. They didn’t leave there because they either got disturb by the security man who was walking around that area after two or because they were too lazy and simply climbed the wall after they’ve thrown the stones. If you use the emergency exit to the right you’ll come straight into the garden.”  
“Don’t they set off an alarm when they got opened?”  
“They’re suppose to do so, yes. It’s very handy when the fuse box is next to the door, unlocked and the instruction manual is in it. Somebody enabled the cable for the door.”  
“Welcome to the land of possibilities. The security standard isn’t high here.”  
“No but I bet they let them pay a lot of money anyway. I got some prints and will ask for the ones of the security guards and the facility manager. Same for the prints of Misses Lennox’ room.”  
“They didn’t leave any traces in the house I doubt they’ll be that sloppy and leave something here.”  
“If they were the ghost the whole time, they got away with murder for five times so far. That makes you arrogant, smug and sloppy.”  
“I can be smug and arrogant without being sloppy.” Sofia smiled.  
“Not you can, you are. And you forgot to tell me you called Grissom.”  
“Yeah sorry. I realized when I walked back in we’d never make it on time to the office and called him. He’s there.”  
“And he’ll send Greg to the house, searching for the gun.”  
“Three CSIs for me now? Wow.”  
“Yeah, you weren’t help enough, I need some back-up.”  
“I won’t take this insult personal.”  
“No reason to do so. I’m off, getting prints. You’re fine without me?”  
“I’m never fine without you, Sara but I can work without you without any problems.”  
“As I said you are smug and arrogant. I’ll send your next senior in.” Sara blinked at Sofia and left the room. 

“Let’s go home.” Sofia came to Sara who was about to finish with the door handle of the front door. She had dusted it and lifted so many prints. She doubted she’d find all the owner of the prints but she wanted to know if any of them were also on the emergency door.   
“We need another talk with Misses Lennox.”   
“Later. She’ll have lunch now and after that physiotherapy. And we need to go home.”  
“Tell me about it.” Sara closed her kit. “When can we talk to Misses Lennox?”  
“Tonight. Eight o’clock.”  
“Wow, an extension of the visiting hours. Did you threaten the nurse again?”  
“Me? Never. Come on.”   
They head for the lab, Sofia helped Sara carrying the evidence before they both knocked off.   
“Finally.” Sara sighed.  
“Ready for bed?”  
“I am, yes but I need to let Gata out for at least a little bit. I can’t sleep until seven and leave her to herself.”  
“You’re running out of sleep time.”  
“I’ll skip lunch.”  
“You skipped breakfast already.”  
“I know.”  
“Tell you something, I’ll organize some lunch and come over. You can eat right away after you had your run, walk or whatever with Gata.”  
“Why would you do that?”  
“Because I want to catch these bloody killers and I need a fresh and sharp minded CSI. Means you need your sleep.”  
“So do you, detective.”  
“If you worry about me and my sleep offer me your couch.”  
“I’m surprised you don’t ask for my bed.”  
“No, I don’t want in your bed, you’re too much my colleague. Deal?”  
“I’ll regret this but yes, deal.” Sara jumped in her car. Leaving her couch to Sofia? Why did she say yes? Why did the blonde offer her to get lunch? Was she really that desperate to get the killer? Sara was sure she’d do the same good job with less sleep. She was used to sleep only a bit and she preferred to sleep less than having less time for her pets.   
“Take the key in case you’re back before I am.” Sara throw her keys to Sofia.  
“How will you come in the house?”  
“I’ll ring at my neighbors, they’ve got the key. Gata and me need half an hour.”  
“Okay, I’ll be back by them. Any wishes?”  
“Vegetarian.”  
“Of course.” Sofia smiled and drove on.   
Sara got her extra keys and was greeted by Gata. Without changing into something more casual she took her bike, her dog and the leash.   
When she was back half an hour later Sofia was not only in her flat, she had also arranged the table and put two bottles of beer on the table. Beer, that hadn’t been in Sara’s flat before.   
“Rice, vegetables and tofu with a beer. What do you think?”  
“I think you might get another invitation.”  
“Thanks. Time to tell me all your secrets you were mentioning this morning.”  
“You want to get kicked out immediately?”  
“No.”  
“Then shut up.”  
“You’re cruel. Gata, your mommy is cruel. Look at my lips when I say that so that you understand what I’m saying and you can agree.”  
“She won’t.”  
“I’ll get her on my side, no worries. I fed Perro if that’s okay?”  
“Yeah. I forgot to do so when I came in. Sorry man.”  
“He’ll forgive you.”  
“I hope. I don’t like it when he doesn’t look at me.”  
“I thought he can’t.” Didn’t Sara say the cat was blind?  
“I mean, I don’t like it when he ignores me.”  
“He does that?”  
“Occasionally.”  
“Your pets do have character. Like their owner.”  
“That’s why we’re such a great family and it’s never boring.”  
“What are you going to do when you go on holidays? Take them with you?”  
“Holidays? Me?”  
“Right.” Sofia laughed. “I forgot you don’t do things like that.”  
“Never. No, it depends. I might Gata with me or leave her with my neighbor who takes her out for a walk every now and then. And Perro is fine in here as long as there’s somebody who feeds him twice a day.”  
“They are like children.”  
“Less stressful.”  
“Probably.”  
“What about you, detective? No pets? No obligations?”  
“No, nothing.”  
“Why? You can’t handle obligations?”  
“I can if I think they are worth it. But they cut in my freedom and if I have to give up my freedom it has to be something very special.”  
“Don’t you know that you’ll be alone one day if you don’t take any obligations?” Sara smirked. A quote of her college time, her ex boyfriend had told her that when she had told him it was over because she wanted her freedom.   
“I can move to the nursing home, there’s always something going on. A ghost, a killer and we don’t want to think what the inhabitants do the whole night…”  
“Stop it right now, Sofia!” Sara covered her ears.  
“The lust of the age. Don’t tell me that’s something new for you, Sara”  
“I start to regret letting you in my apartment.”  
“Really? I start to enjoy it. We should talk a little bit more.”  
“I’ll have a shower and go to bed. Talk to Gata she’ll listen and not complain. Or have a shower yourself if you want, there’re towels in the bathroom.”  
“A shower with you?”  
“After me!” Sara got up. “And don’t forget the dishes. That should get your thoughts away from everything I don’t like.”  
“Thinking of dishes is nothing I like either.” Sofia laughed. They had plastic boxes anyway. No dishes for their lunch. Sofia didn’t buy anything that made work. 

Monday evening

“I was wondering where you are when I woke up.” Sara grinned when Sofia stopped next to her on the parking lot at the nursing home.  
“I told you I don’t sleep at other places. And when I fall asleep I won’t stay for breakfast.”  
“I thought that was only for your affairs. What are you doing when you go on holidays? Leave the hotel every morning at five so that you don’t wake up there for breakfast?”  
“Funny girl.” Sofia laughed. “I had to do some shopping, you were asleep when I woke up, it was half past six so I left. I didn’t know I had to wake you up. That was never part of the deal. Only lunch and your couch.”  
“You missed my famous egg burger.”  
“I’ll have it another day.”  
“All my offers are only valid for one day, you missed your chance.”  
“In that case I’ll have to find a way to live with it.”  
They walked in the building, not bothering to ask where they could find Misses Lennox. She’d be in her room with hopefully new locks and a security chain.  
After Sara knocked twice the door was open by the elderly woman.   
“Misses Lennox, I see you’ve got a new lock.”  
“Yes and the chain. I feel much better now.”  
“I’m glad to hear that.” They walked in the room.   
“Did you find the ghost?”  
“No, we didn’t find the killer. But we’ve got some more questions. There was a black Sedan at your house, do you know anybody who drives this kind of car?”  
“I’m sorry I’ve no idea how this car looks like.”  
Sara didn’t expect anything else and got two pictures of black Sedans out.   
“Oh, little Stuart had a car like this. I can remember he bought it years ago and was so proud of it. It was the newest car and he had saved so much money to buy it. He said it could fly on the highway.”  
Sara and Sofia exchanged meaningful looks. Little Stuart. Interesting.   
“Did little Stuart have a key for your house?” It was strange to talk about somebody as ‘little Stuart’ who older than she was, but Sara wanted to keep to familiar words for Misses Lennox. The old lady wouldn’t like it when Sara treated her former neighbor like a suspect.  
“Of course. He brought me my groceries.”  
“Does he still have it?”  
“No, he gave it back to me when I moved to here. He’s such a lovely boy, he baked a cake for me.”  
Sara was sure the lovely boy had an extra key. The lock at the house was nothing special, she doubted Misses Lennox had one of the keys you weren’t supposed to copy. And with enough money it was no real problem to get a second key anyway.   
“You said Stuart Milton doesn’t live at home anymore but he spent a lot of time with your father. Do you know where he’s living? We’d like to talk to him, maybe he can help us out regarding the ghost.” Sofia said. Stuart Milton was about to become a suspect or a person of interest.   
“I’ve no idea where he lives now. When he moved out he told me he has got a lovely flat and that he can see the Las Vegas Strip from his upper window.”  
“Is he married?”  
“There were girls in his life but a wedding? I’m sure he would have invited me. Why don’t you ask his parents? They’ll help you out and you can ask him. He’s a nice boy, he’ll love to help you. He and Gordi were sunshines.”  
“Gordi?”  
“His best friend. He came with him sometimes when he brought the groceries. They were best friends since kindergarten. I don’t think you get this friendship anymore, people don’t have time for friends.” Misses Lennox paused for a second and looked at Sara and Sofia. “You two must be good friends, you work together so wonderful, it seems like the first one knows what the second one wants. Really nice.”  
Friends? Sara wouldn’t call it friends but they got on better and better.   
“We worked together for four years, we know how the other one works.” Sofia smiled and rescued Sara with her answer. “I used to be a CSI before I became a detective so I know what Sara is doing. And she’s very smart, she knows what I’ve to do.”  
Sara was sure she heard amusement and a mocking sound in Sofia’s voice. Did the blonde try to tease her again? Probably.   
“Misses Lennox, there is one very important thing: If you ever get a message from the ghost, don’t burn it, don’t wash it down the drain. Call the police and try not to touch the message so that we can get fingerprints. The message won’t burn itself, that’s impossible.”  
“You think the ghost will be back?”  
“I don’t think the men can come in your room anymore after you’ve got the better security.”  
“I called the real-estate company and told them I don’t want to house to be sold. The ghost should be happy now.”  
“We’ll let you sleep now, Misses Lennox. If anything comes up we’ll come back.” Sara finished the conversation. Misses Lennox was again too much into her ghost story, she was not a real help like that. But she had given them some good ideas before. The neighbor son had a black Sedan, that was a start. 

“Hey Griss.” Sara knocked on the open door of her supervisor’s office.  
“Sara, you’re early.”  
“Actually, I started an hour ago, we were in the nursing home, after we couldn’t finish our conversation with Misses Lennox this morning.”  
“Anything new?”  
“Her neighbor, who used to bring her groceries when she was living at home, had or has a black Sedan. Sofia is checking the list if he stills own it and if not, what car he drives now. We want to talk to him, he had a key too. And a best friend since kindergarten.”  
“Suspects?”  
“People of interests right now. We’ve no idea if this man still lives in Las Vegas, Sofia is over at his parents checking that out too. What did you find in the real-estate office?”  
“Shocked people. They got the house out of their list. You know, the press did perfect work for them, alone while I was there four different interested parties called because they wanted to buy the house. A real ghost house, a killer ghost house, it’s an attraction.”  
“I’m sure the ghost doesn’t think like that.”  
“Or the ghost tries to buy the house themselves. New owner, no tours, no more killings, people will lose their interested and it will be a quiet house again.”  
“Hey.” Greg came in.   
“Greggo, how are you?” Sara greeted her friend. “I see the ghost didn’t catch you.”  
“Did you find a gun?” Grissom asked.  
“No. I looked in every drawer, in every cabinet, under every bed, lifted the mattresses and opened big books. Nothing. There is no gun.”  
“Misses Lennox says her husband might have thrown it away. He wasn’t that keen on guns.”  
“You don’t throw them away, you sell them. When he got the gun, it was the middle of the eighties, the gun was around thirty years old. When it was in a good condition, a collector might pay some money for it.” Greg disagreed.   
“He sold it and didn’t tell his wife because she wasn’t interested in the gun either. Or the ghost found it and kept it.”  
“Twenty years of spooking around a house.” Sara sat on the edge of Grissom’s desk. Something she had started to do when they were a couple and hadn’t stop after they had split. It was a comfortable position.  
“Whoever started this ghost game was at least old enough to enter a locked house, old enough not to be scared of the dark, cold enough to kill five people.”  
“But soft hearted enough to let Misses Lennox live.” Grissom said.  
“You know, Stuart Milton was around twenty when Misses Lennox’ father died. He spent a lot of time with the old man, he knew the house, he did the grocery shopping for Misses Lennox, he had his own key.”  
“You like him as a suspect.”  
“He fits good. I’ll check on him.”  
“Talking about checking, I’ve got a question for both of you.” Greg looked from Grissom to Sara.   
“What’s that?” His boss asked.  
“Which scale did you use for your outlines?”  
“Standard ones. Why?”  
“I checked your outlines, they’re the same. Being interested in old things I had a look at the one from the real-estate building, I thought it might be the ones which were used hundred years ago – they are not…”  
“Greg, the point.” Grissom sighed.   
“The point is, the real-estate office had a copy and this copy is different from your outline. They’ve got five foot more. The house is five foot longer according to them.”  
“Maybe they copied it wrong or made their own outline and made a mistake.”  
“I don’t know. I was thinking of going back to the house and check it but I wanted to talk to you first.”  
“Did you check the file of the house from the real-estate office?”  
“No.”  
“Have a look in it first. I got it in today. After you were at the new crime scene. All your information are on the table, I need you for the new cases.”  
“Alright boss.” Greg left the office.   
“I’m sure I didn’t mess up the scale.” Sara wondered.  
“Yours and mine are the same, so it will be correct. I think the office made a mistake. Or whoever made the first scale. A hundred years ago they weren’t as accurate as they are today. The ninety mile beach in New Zealand is only sixty-six miles long. When they named it they thought a trolley pulled by an ox makes thirty miles a day, they needed three days so they were sure, the beach is ninety miles long. In reality the ox made twenty-two miles a day.”  
“You know strange things.”  
“It’s interesting to read about countries that were colonized by white men later than America. And the guy who explored New Zealand was also very active around America.”  
“James Cook. He died in Hawaii, being the dinner for some cannibals. I do know some things.” Sara smirked.  
“You know a lot of things, Sara.” Grissom petted her hand.   
“And now I’ll find out who plays ghost and why.”  
“Let me know who is it when you know.”  
“I’ll call you for drawing the…sheet.” Grissom laughed. 

“I’ve got an address on Stuart Milton, his parents gave me his currant address. Didn’t Misses Lennox say he can see the Strip from his window?” Sofia poured herself some coffee.   
“Yes.”  
“Well, I paid the house a visit, there’s no way you can see the Strip, not even when you climb on the roof.”  
“He lied or he moved. What did he say?”  
“Nothing. Nobody opened the door.”  
“Is he working nights?”  
“According to his father he works in a fast food restaurant. I went there, they told me hasn’t been in for weeks, got fired only a few weeks after he started his job there. He was never on time and some days he never showed up.”  
“Not reliable.”  
“No. I’ll try it in the morning again, gonna run him now.”  
“You can save the time, I did that. He doesn’t have a sheet and not a black Sedan. But I did find a Gordon who owns a black Sedan and a sheet. Possession of drugs.”  
“Does Gordon have a surname?”  
“Everybody has a surname; except for Price, Madonna, Cher, Sting…”  
“I’ve got your point, Sara.” Sofia furrowed her brows. “Are you on something? Joking around isn’t your style.”  
“I’m fine, thanks. Albright. Gordon Albright. Police stopped him fifteen years ago on Boulder Highway, when they checked his car they found some ecstasy. He did a few weeks, got out never got caught again.”  
“Or stopped using.”  
“Drugs test were negative, he didn’t use, he dealt. I don’t think he stopped when he was out again, he only didn’t get caught again.”  
“You don’t believe people can change?”  
“That’s not the topic. His story is similar to Miltons, he works in a souvenir shop, since two weeks. The last jobs he had he lost after a couple of weeks.”  
“If he’s still dealing he won’t need the money, keeps the jobs as a false front so that nobody asks how he pays his rent. But an old Sedan?”  
“You never asked me what kind of car Milton is driving.”  
“What kind of car is Stuart Milton driving?”   
“Mercedes.”  
“He works in a fast food shop – worked – and drives a Mercedes? I think I’ve to change my job.”  
“Six years old Mercedes. I’m a investigator, I follow the evidence so I can’t say he got all the money in an illegal way…”  
“It sure sounds like that. Would you like to check out these guys with me?”  
“I thought you’d never ask.” Sara laughed. “But I bet when Milton is away, Albright isn’t home too.”  
“They can’t go to the house, it’s still closed and an officer is in front of the door. They have to be anywhere.”  
“Drugs need to be sold, they’ll on the street. They caught Albright on Boulder Highway, that tells me, they’re area is not only Vegas.”  
“We’ll pay them a visit in the morning. What else did you do while I talked to ‘Little Stuart’s’ parents?”  
“Tell me first what they told you. What do they think about their little boy?”  
“They are his parents, parents don’t tell the police bad things. Stuart spent a lot of time with the old Deeds, that was the name of Misses Lennox’ father. Deeds taught the boy how to build a wooden shed, in fact, the one uncle Sam lived in was built by Stuart and Deeds, how to repair old motorbikes, once they built fireworks for new years eve.”  
“Chemicals are nothing new to Milton, a great basis for ecstasy.”  
“Misses Milton thought the death of the old man would hit her son hard but Stuart didn’t seem to care. He went on with his own business, went to the funerals of all three men who lived in the house and bought the groceries for Misses Lennox. Besides Gordon he never had any friends over, there were some girls but nothing for a longer time.”  
“Was he desperate for money?”  
“All teenagers are desperate for money, don’t tell me you were always fine with what you had, Sara.”  
“I got by.”  
“Yeah, geeks are happy when they can sit the whole day in the library.”  
Sara looked at her skeptical. She wasn’t a geek. She was interested in many things and yes, she had a lot of fun in the library.   
“Anyway, Stuart asked his parents on a regular base for money, sometimes he got something, sometimes not. He bought his own car, he went out on the weekends. His parents said, he was proud of his car, new clothes and some other pricey stuff. He told them he was a good gambler, made some money in the casinos. Being a smart kid he had figured out how to win often and they accepted that.”  
“You don’t want to think of your son as a young man who gets his money in an illegal way.”  
“No, you don’t.”  
“Misses Lennox never said he had visit her in the nursing home. I think he wasn’t that interested in the old lady at all.”  
“Maybe she just doesn’t know that he was there.” Sara smiled.  
“You want him for the ghost?”  
“Didn’t say that, there’s no evidence for that.”  
“Forget the evidence thing for a moment, what do your guts tell you?”  
“Something is wrong with ‘little Stuart’.”  
“Good, I think so too. We’ll talk to him in the morning. What did Grissom find out?”  
“That since the newest death even more people want to buy the house. There were four interested parties while he was there. A killing ghost house.”  
“People are sick.”  
“Tell me about it.” Sara thought for a moment. “Did you by any chance check the size of the rooms?”  
“No, I know I did work a lot like a CSI in this case but I am not one. Why?”  
“According to Greg Griss and mine outline are the same, the one from the real-estate office is different. The house is five foot longer there.”  
“Making money? A bigger house brings more money. Or they made a mistake. When your and Grissom’s outline is the same, they will be right and the office made a mistake. Copied it wrong.”  
“Yeah. But why? I mean, they had a copy of the original outline.”  
“See, a copy.”  
“Yeah…”  
“What?” Sofia could see Sara wasn’t satisfied with that.   
“I only wonder. You copy the outline and that’s it. The scale should be the same, you don’t make five foot when you copy something and if you do, you also make some foot in the other direction.”  
“Did they?”  
“Greg didn’t say so.”  
“Where is the outline?”  
“With the other evidence.”  
“Let’s have a look. If the length is wrong in both ways we know the real-estate office was cheating or too stupid to copy it right.”  
Sofia followed Sara to the evidence. She worked again more like a CSI than a detective. It wasn’t her job to check things like that but she couldn’t help herself, she enjoyed it. Did she miss working as a CSI? Her mom would kill her if she changed her mind and asked for a transfer back to CSI.  
“Here they are.” Sara placed all three plans on the table. Hers and Grissom’s doubtless the same size. The one from the office was five foot longer as Greg said but it was as wide as the other two. If the office copied the original wrong, it should be wrong in both ways.  
“Strange.” Sofia got a toothpick out of her jacket.   
“Do want to have a smoke, detective?” Sara chuckled.  
“Huh? No thanks, I stopped years ago, bad habit but I do miss it. Why?”  
“Your toothpick.”  
“Oh.” Sofia flushed a little bit.   
“Chewing gum?”  
“That’s not the same.” Sofia sighed and put the toothpick away.  
“Keep it, it amuses me.”  
“The best reason to put it away.”  
“No fun allowed. What a pity. Any idea what to do? Beside driving to the house and measuring it?”  
“That’s one way and I’ve got something else in mind.”  
“What?”  
“It’s a surprise. Come on.”  
“To where?”  
“Sara, I’m the detective, I’ll protect you, no matter where we go. Nobody will do anything to you.”  
“I’m not afraid of nobody I don’t trust you.” Sara smirked.  
“You do trust me, you let me sleep on your couch. Come on and take the outlines.”  
Sara followed Sofia to her car and got in without any further questions. They’d find out what was wrong with the outline by not going to the house? Where wanted Sofia to go to?   
The detective drove them around the center and stopped in front of an old house, that looked like it would fall apart any second.  
“Are you going to kill me here? Nobody will ever look for me here, I can promise you that.” Sara eyed the building.   
“Stop thinking I want to hurt you, I don’t and you pretty well know that.” Sofia knocked on a door that opened itself. Without hesitation she walked into the dark and found a few seconds later a light switch.   
“Where are we?”  
“At Gustav’s place.”  
“Who is Gustav?”  
“Somebody who can help us out.” Sofia walked down the stairs until she was in front of a big wooden door. Here she knocked again and opened the door. This time there was no darkness waiting for them but some light. And an old man. If Sara had to guess she’d say he was hundred or older.   
“My blond angel, what a lovely surprise.” His face started to shine when he saw Sofia.  
“Hi Gustav, how are you?”  
“When I see you I’m always fine and feel like thirty again. If I would be that young I’d marry you immediately. One day I’ll be young again and meet you and we’ll be married.” Sara wasn’t sure what to think. Was this old man serious? Was he flirting with Sofia and the blonde seemed to enjoy that. Was there a side of Sofia Curtis Sara didn’t know of? Didn’t want to know of.   
“Your plan for our new lives?”  
“Yes.”  
“We will see. That’s Sara Sidle, she’s with the crime lap…”  
“Another lovely woman, it must be my lucky day. You’re wearing your badge, you must be on duty so I guess this isn’t a visit of the heart.”  
“I’m sorry, yes we’re working. We’ve got three outlines, two are the same, the third one makes the building five foot longer. But apparently the third one is a copy of the original one. We thought they copied it wrong but it’s the right size for the wide.”  
“And you want to know if I’ve got the original.”  
“Yes.”  
“Which building, Sweetheart?”  
“The Ghost House. 4514…”  
“I know which house you talk about. It was quite famous the last couple of days. I read you’re working on the case. Give me two minutes, will you?”  
“Sure. Thanks.”   
Sara waited until Gustav was gone. “Who is that?”  
“Gustav.”  
“Yeah and he’s got a crush on you, I figured that out. Why are we here?”  
“He has got the real original outline of the Ghost House.”  
“How did you know that?”  
“I didn’t. But I know Gustav, he collects outlines of buildings. He has hundreds of them, most of them older than we are. His father started the collection in 1870 when Vegas was small, Gustav continued the collection and it looks like he has got the original outline. He has exhibition four times a year with his collection. Really amazing.”  
“And you know all that because in your next life you and Gustav will be married.”  
“If his wish comes true, yes. No, he’s an old friend of my mother.”  
“I knew I had it somewhere.” Gustav came with a very old looking scroll back. “Come here, Sofia, give me a hand, will you?”  
“Sure.” They made some space on the table and Gustav placed the outline on it. Very careful he unrolled it, placed a cup, a mug and a book on the corners, hold the fourth one. With his eyes close to the paper he read the writing.   
“Twenty-three yards.”  
“Are you sure?” Sara didn’t have to check to know she and Grissom had five yards less.   
“Absolutely. And this is the original outline of the house. Have a look for yourself.”   
Sara walked to the table and looked at the outline. Gustav was right, twenty-three yards. She and Grissom missed five yards. How was that possible?  
“I guess we can’t take this one with us?”  
“It’s the original one, I don’t give my treasures away, they’re priceless.” Gustav petted the old paper carefully.   
“Could we have a copy of it?” Sofia asked.  
“A copy?” He looked around. The old copy machine in the corner didn’t look like it was still working and it was too small for the outline.   
“I tell you something, Sofia. You personally take care of it and I’ll give it to you for one day. Get a copy, but be very careful, bring it back to me and we’re both happy.”  
“You’re the best.”  
“I know. Just remember that in our next life, my blond angel.”  
“I try to remember that I’ve to marry a man who collects outlines. Shouldn’t be too many out there.” Sofia laughed and rolled the outline together.   
“No, it’s not a favorite pastime. I’ll let you ladies go on and look forward to see you tomorrow again. Bring your lovely friend if you like.”  
“We will see. Thanks Gustav.”  
“Thank you very much.” Sara was still not sure what to think of this man.  
“So, you and Grissom are wrong.” Sofia said when they were back in the car.  
“Says who? It’s two – two, we’re even.”  
“You can’t lose, can you?”  
“Only if I have to.”  
“Do you want to go to the house and measure it again?”  
“Yes, I do. But I think we have to go back to the lap first. Grissom wants to see this outline too and it’s better when we go to the house when we’ve got some light.”  
“Yeah, the ghost might be flying around right now.”  
“The only ghost that’s flying around is the one in your head, Sofia.”

Tuesday morning

“I knew nobody would open.” Sara leaned against the car. She and Sofia had been to the houses of Stuart Milton and Gordon Albright, both times nobody opened the door.   
“I’d love to open the door.” Sofia grumbled.   
“No warrant, detective.”  
“Tell me something I don’t know.”  
“The isolation of an igloo is so good that you won’t feel cold when it’s minus twenty-two degrees outside.”   
“That’s nothing I’ll ever need. I don’t like cold weather, I won’t go to Alaska.”   
“If you ever end up there you know now where to keep warm.”  
“Great. Tomorrow you can teach me how to build an igloo for the trip I’ll never have.”  
“Maybe I’ll do that.” Sara got into the car.   
“Whatever. Let’s go to the house to find out who was right: CSI or the builder in 1890.”  
“It would your pleasure if Griss and me are wrong, wouldn’t it?”  
“Yes.” Sofia admitted. “But I’d still think you’re a good CSI even when you’re wrong. Not perfect, not very good but still alright.”  
“Still alright is the little sister of shitty.”   
“I like your friendly way, Sara Sunshine.”  
“Give me a break, Curtis.” Sara turned her head and looked out of the window.   
Sofia chuckled quietly. One of the best things about this case was definitely spending a lot of time with Sara and annoying her. She couldn’t do that when they were surrounded all the time by other people, in this case they were most of the time alone.   
“Your officer is gone.”   
“His shift ended this morning at six. The house isn’t a crime scene anymore.”   
“But we’ll walk inside to solve the case.”  
“Your expectation is high, Sara.”  
“I like challenges.”  
“Really?”  
“Just…don’t say what you want to say.”  
“May I open the door for you?” Sofia grinned.   
“You may.” Sara waited until Sofia had unlocked the door and walked straight up the stairs. This was her freaking first crime scene. She was sure she had taken the right measure. Under Sofia’s eyes she took her folding rule and started measuring the room.   
“The wide is the same.”  
“It was the same on all four outlines, Sara. It’s the length that’s interesting; like so often in life.”  
Sara just shot her a look and didn’t say a word. It’s the same like the last time, seven yards.”  
“It’s supposed to be eight.”  
“Do you want to do it, detective? If you think I’m too stupid…”  
“Whoa, calm down, Sara.” Sofia stopped the brunette before she got too angry. “Maybe we’ll have a few yards more in the next room. Let’s check the other three.” They checked all rooms upstairs and downstairs, all the time with the same conclusion: Sara and Grissom were right.   
“That’s strange.” Sofia looked at the outlines.   
“Yes. We can check it from the outside.”  
“You think they used wood that’s what? Two foot thick? I really doubt that.”  
“We’ll get the measure from the outside and if they’re the same like Grissom and mine, we know, the outlines of the architect is wrong. Too drunk to work.”  
“Alright.” Sofia followed Sara to the outside. Again Sara took the measure of the wide first and got a hit. Nothing surprising about that. Now it was time to check the length.   
“And? What does it say?” Sofia asked from the one side of the house.   
“I don’t believe it. It says the same like the old outlines.” Sara came back to Sofia. “How can that be? We lose five foot from the inside to the outside. Five foot! I’d wonder when there’s a difference of one foot, it’s a wooden building, but five? How can you lose five foot?”  
“I’ve no idea. Do you have a drill on you?”  
“No. Why?”  
“It’s not legal and Misses Lennox wouldn’t be happy about it, but I’d like to drill a hole in the wall to see how thick they really are.”  
“I’ve got a hammer and long nails. Like four or five inches.”  
“That will do. If we don’t get through the wall we know, they are very thick and get a drill to find out how thick exactly.”  
They walked back in the room where they’ve found the first body. Sara didn’t know why but she wanted to try her luck here.   
“I’ll be in the other room and yell when you’re through.” Sofia went to the bathroom while Sara started hammering. After every beat she waited for a second for Sofia’s voice but didn’t hear it.   
“My nail is almost gone.”  
“I can’t see anything.”  
“Strange.” Sara took her pliers and pulled the nail out of the wall.  
“We can take the exact place of the nail and try it from the other side. If you don’t get a connection the wall is thicker than one foot.” Sofia was about to take the folding rule.   
“Sofia?”  
“Mhm?”  
“I don’t think the wood is that thick.” Sara had a closer look at the hole the nail had made. “Maybe it’s only my eyes but it looks to me like I am through the wall.” She stepped aside to give Sofia a better look. The blonde pressed her head on the wall and tried to look in the hole.   
“Could you give me your flashlight?”  
“Sure.” Sara got her flashlight and handed it to Sofia.   
“As crazy as it sounds but I think you’re right.”   
“One question, detective: Why is there space between the two rooms?”  
“I have no idea. Let’s go in the bathroom and check if the other wall is the same.”  
Sofia walked back in the bathroom while Sara went in the second bedroom. This time Sara heard Sofia’s voice after she beat the hammer only five times.  
“You’re through.”  
“Okay.” She got her tolls back in the kit.  
“This wall is like we expected it. After there’s a difference of five foot between the outlines I wonder why there’s a five foot wide space between bedroom one and bathroom.”  
“So do I.” Sara started to touch the wall in the hallway. “The free space must be here. Maybe it’s a kind of panic room.”  
“They didn’t make panic rooms one hundred years ago.”  
“A secret room for valuables? I don’t know, there must be something and I want to know what this something is. Maybe the bedroom of the ghost?”  
“If you can move the wall it would explain why the killer could enter the room without leaving any traces in the house.” Sofia walked in the bedroom and started to touch the wall there. All four outlines were right. Grissom and Sara were right with the inside, the other two were right about the outside. Misses Lennox never mentioned a hidden room. If she knew about it? Or was it a secret of her grandfather?   
“Fuck.”  
“What?” Within seconds Sofia was by Sara’s side. The voice of the investigator had sounded painful. What did happen to her? Was she injured? Did somebody hurt her?   
“I’ve got a scale of wood in my hand.”   
“Come to the window.” Sofia dragged Sara to the window, got the flashlight out of the kit and tweezers.   
“You hold the flashlight I’ll get the little pain in your hand.”  
“If you hurt me…”  
“Don’t be a pussy.” Sofia grinned. It took her only a few seconds to get the scale of wood out of Sara’s hand. The investigator didn’t even blink.  
“See, no pain. Do you need a kiss on it? A plaster? Bandage?”  
“Stop kidding me.”   
“I can’t help myself.”  
“I see that. Use your brain for the wall and the room behind it.”  
“This is a crime scene, we’re investigate it, you can remove the wall if you think you need to do that.”  
“I? And you watch me working?”  
“Teamwork. I’m the team, you’re the work. No, I’ll help you, silly. I did that the whole time and won’t stop now. I assume you don’t have an ax?”  
“Right next to the chain saw, I never leave the house without them in case I can’t cut my pizza.”  
“Being a bitch again doesn’t help. What do you have what we can use? Beside our talented hands?”  
“A pocket knife and a little saw.”  
“That will do.”  
“Yeah, I’ll get that and call Grissom that we found…something. I’m sure he wants to come along.”  
“Maybe it’s a room full of gold. In that case we shouldn’t say anything and simple run away.”  
“How could you get your badge saying things like that?” Sara grinned.  
“I had my ways.” Sofia smirked. “You get the heavy tools I start with the pocket knife and the pliers. When I can lift the nails a little bit I can simply pull them out and remove the boards.”  
“Even better than the saw. We do that in case our idea is bullshit and we need to repair everything.” Sara took her cell and dialed Grissom’s number while Sofia started to lose the first nail.   
It wasn’t easy but the wood was soft and they got the nails out without destroying too much of the boards.   
After the third board Sofia stuck her head in the hole.   
“Bloody hell, there’s a stair. It’s a hidden tunnel, Sara.”  
“Probably to the lower level.” Sara got another nail out.   
“There are shoeprints inside.” Sofia said when they had moved another four boards. “I bet our ghost was here and watched us or listened what we were doing. Wait my little friend, I’ll get you.”  
Sofia dropped the tools and started to climb into the hole.  
“What the fuck are you doing?” Sara grabbed the arm of the blonde and pulled her back in the room.  
“I’ll catch us a ghost.”  
“You will call for back-up.”  
“Sara, they might have heard us. I don’t want to give them time to run.”  
“You will call for back-up.”  
“Or?”  
Sara eyes became small and filled with fire. There was no way she’d let Sofia go inside there. No matter what the blonde would try or do, Sara would stop her.   
“Or I’ll beat your head on the wall until we’ve got a second hole. You don’t want to let them run away, neither do I. But I won’t let you go in there alone. You don’t even wear a vest.”  
“Give me yours.”  
“No.”  
“It’s my job to stop them.”  
“Your job is to protect and not to risk your life playing stupid heroine. They pay you to risk your life to protect people and not to risk your life because of stupidity.”  
“They killed three to five people.”  
“Exactly. You call for back-up before you – wearing a vest - go and some officers go in there. They might have killed five people I won’t let them add a number six on the list. I rather let one or two or - how many they are – killer escape than risking your life, Sofia.”  
Sofia hold still and looked into Sara’s eyes with surprise.   
“You do care about me.” She whispered. This conclusion shocked her a little bit.   
“I fucking do. Now, will you call for back-up detective or do I have to do your job?” Sara pushed Sofia towards the door and kept an eye on the whole in the wall. If these men made the decision to come upstairs, she wanted to see them as soon as possible. And she needed a moment to calm down. Sofia had made her angry, very angry. Risking her life could be Sofia’s job but not under these circumstances. As long as Sara was here the blonde wouldn’t play hero.   
“They are on their way.”  
“Good.” Sara was still turned away from Sofia, watching the whole.  
“Sara?”  
“Mhm?”   
“Could you look at me, please?”  
“I need to make sure nobody is in there and comes up.” She didn’t want to look at Sofia right now.   
“We’ll hear them. It’s a wooden stair, it will make some sound.”  
“We didn’t hear them when we were in the room.”  
“I doubt they were here, they are not stupid. Please. Sara.”  
Slowly Sara turned to find Sofia right in front of her; almost in her personal space.   
“I am sorry.”  
“What for?”  
“For not thinking.”  
“Forget it.”  
“No. You…you really do care for me, don’t you?”  
“As I do for any other cop.”   
“No.” Sofia shook her head. Sara knew it was a bad lie, a very bad lie but she didn’t want to tell the blonde that. Sofia knew it anyway.  
“What do you want me to say?”  
“I want to hear what you really think, Sara. I want some private words, not the shit you tell everybody.”  
“Yes I do care about you. Satisfied? I like you, I like working with you and I’d be really pissed off when you let somebody shoot you.”  
“I want that egg burger I don’t let anybody shoot me.” Sofia smiled lightly. She had no idea how to respond to Sara’s words in a better way without saying words both didn’t want to hear, weren’t ready to hear.   
“I told you, you missed your chance.”  
“Can you be that mean?”  
“You know me, what do you think?”  
Sofia closed the distance between them even more, her hands slightly touching Sara’s sides.   
“You can be that mean if you can annoy me with that. But you won’t be that mean if I ask you to bake them for me. Right?” The blonde smiled.   
“You don’t bake them, you cook them. And now give me my bloody hug, that’s what you want, that’s why you’re so close. Let’s get it behind us.”  
“You’re one of a kind, Sara Sidle.” Sofia pulled Sara in her arms and hugged her. “Thanks for keeping my head straight and not letting me play stupid heroine.”  
“You don’t need to play stupid heroine, you’re a true heroine every day by doing your job. No need to push your luck, detective.”  
“I’ll keep that in mind, investigator.” Sofia let Sara go and stepped a few steps back. This woman was amazing. Sofia wouldn’t mind working every case with her. Maybe they’d try to kill each other after a few weeks but until one of them succeeded, there’d be a lot fun.   
“Back-up is here.”   
“Get your vest and you’re free to follow them in the hole.”  
“You won’t let me in there without a vest?”  
“Just don’t try it, Sofia. It will end very embarrassing for you if you do.” Sara smirked. She would stop the detective.   
“Stay here, don’t run away and scream if anything happens.”  
“Yes mom.”  
“I wonder who the mom is.” Sofia mumbled when she jumped down the stairs to get her vest and bring her colleagues upstairs. Back-up, a vest, Sara acted like she was Sofia’s supervisor. No matter if she was right or not.   
“We might have one or two suspects in here.” Sofia came with two officers back; and her vest. “There might be more than two, we’ve no exact number. They might be responsible for the death of five people, two twenty years ago, three in the last two weeks. More back-up is on its way, no need to play hero.” She looked at Sara when she said the last words.   
The first officer started to climb in the hole.  
“I guess you want to come with us.” It was clear Sofia wasn’t happy with that idea.  
“You beg.”  
“I’d prefer to let you wait here until we’ve cleared the scene.”  
“And then there’s a second door, they get out through that, come up here and shoot me because I’m here without any protection?” She knew she was overdoing the scene. And she knew Sofia thought the same.  
“You stay behind me, understand?”  
“I’ll be your shadow.”  
“Don’t try anything stupid, Sara.”  
“There are other people here for that.”  
“Don’t dare me.” And with clenched teeth she continued. “I fucking care for you.”   
“I’ll be behind you, I promise.” The look she got from Sofia when the blonde started to climb through the hole told her she better did.   
In the stairway the air became immediately old and somehow moldy. Carefully Sara followed the two officers and Sofia, her gun in her hands, ready to use it. Dust and cob webs were everywhere and no light. Of course, the whole house was without lights.   
Without any problems they reached the lower level. No door or they didn’t see one. Because they haven’t found anything like a door when they were processing the house, Sara imagined there was no door to the house and because the staircase went further down, she was sure, there had to be a second door somewhere. Nobody would build a staircase for nothing.   
“I didn’t know the house has a basement.” She whispered to Sofia when they walked down further.  
“Neither did I. There was no outline for one.”  
“You think it got ‘forgotten’ like these stairs?”  
“Probably. Grandfather Lennox must have had a very good reason why he didn’t want anybody to know about this. Maybe it was the first version of a panic room. A place to hide.”  
“Or to hide something.”   
They stopped in front of a door.   
“Go a few steps back in case anybody is waiting behind the door for us.” Sofia told Sara. Reluctantly the investigator walked a few steps back to the first bend. This was Sofia’s game, she had to obey.   
One officer knocked on the door. “LVPD please open the door.”  
No reaction, no noise.   
“LVPD, please open the door.”  
Sara tried to listen for any sound. Were the men behind the door? Were they waiting for them? What was with their back-up?   
Sofia gave the men a sign and they tried to door. Locked.   
“Fuck.” The blonde got up. “You get ready to fire, I open the door.” She took a deep breath, turned, hold on for a second and when she turned again her leg shot forward and crashed the door. Sofia let herself fall immediately on the floor and the two officers jumped above her in the room, looking for people, securing it.   
“Room’s clear.”  
Sara was there to offer Sofia her hand.   
“Thanks.”  
“No worries, Bruce Lee.”  
“Yeah I learnt from the best.”   
They walked into the room.   
“Wow.” Sara was stunned. This wasn’t a basement, this was a freaking lab! A drug lab. “They produce ecstasy.”   
“Now we know why don’t need a job.”  
“Detective? Here’s another door.”   
“You two take the door I’ll get our back-up here. We need more men and I think we’ve to call CSI.”  
“I am here.” Sara said. CSI was there, in case Sofia forgot her.   
“I know but I think you want to have Grissom here.”  
“At least I should call him.”   
“You won’t have a signal here I assume. Get out, send the back-up down, I’ll stay here.”  
“Don’t touch anything.” Sara grinned. “I hate it when the police disturbs my crime scene.”  
“The detective was a CSI, she knows what to do, and more important, what not to do.”  
“Sorry.” Sara smiled and left the room. They had found a drug lab but not their suspects. Well, sooner or later they’d come back to their lab. She’d ask for some officers to wait in front of their houses. 

“We’ve got enough ecstasy to let the whole Strip have a wild party for one night.” Sara had stopped counting how many bags with colorful pills she had already bagged.   
“Thousands of dollars.” Sofia came back. She had followed her colleagues through the second door.   
“I won’t slip some in my pocket for your weekend fun and personal boost of money.”  
“Not? What about: our person weekend fun and our person boost of money?”  
“I won’t allow that.” Grissom got up. He was hidden behind a table.   
“Now we’re three, we’ll need a lot of pills. How big are your pockets?”  
“The detective is corrupt.” Sara smirked.  
“Underpaid.”  
“Aren’t we all?”  
“I think so. They still don’t have anything of Milton and Albright.”   
“Where’s the tunnel going to?”  
“Half a mile down south, a door is hidden under a few bushes. The perfect way to enter the house without anybody noticing it.”  
“I better start processing there. Greg should be here any minute I disturbed his sleep.” Grissom smiled.   
“We’ll have a lot of fun with this scene.” Sara rolled her eyes. “The next double, here I come.”  
“You can do it, Sara.”  
“I have no other choice.”  
“True. In case we finish together would you like to have lunch with me? My payback for the last one.”  
“You paid the lunch, no need for a payback. I’m the one who has to pay you back.”  
“I let you buy too.”  
“Mind if we have a rain check on that? On a day when we haven’t work something like twenty hours in a row? I think I’ll need some sleep and time for my beloved ones.”  
“The Spanish animals. Alright. I’ll get out of here and try to find out if we’ve got a trace of our suspects and will have another talk with Misses and Mister Milton as well as I’d like to talk to the parents of Gordon Albright.”  
“Good luck.”   
“Thanks. See you later.”  
“Later, later.”   
Sara got her attention back to the crime scene. She’d need Greg’s help in here. Bagging pills, lifting prints, looking for clues where the men might be, securing evidence. It would be a really long day for her.

“What?” Sara’s voice was annoyed. It felt like she had only slept five minutes and her cell phone was ringing.   
“They’ve caught Albright and Milton. Do you want to interview them?”  
As much as she liked Grissom right now she wasn’t happy to hear his voice. On the other hands side, of course she wanted to be there when the police talked to the two main suspects. She had worked the case, she wanted to know if they could close it. And she had some questions for these men.   
“When?”  
“One hour.”  
“I’ll be there.” She fell back in her pillow and risked an eye towards the clock. Almost seven. She had slept five hours, why did she feel like five minutes? Okay, there was a lack of sleep in the last days but hey, it was her, she never needed a lot of sleep. Was this the first sign of becoming old? Whatever it was, she had no time thinking of it, she had to grab a shower, get dressed and down to the police department.   
It took her less than an hour to be at the police station.   
“You look tired.”   
“You also don’t look like you come from a wellness weekend, detective.” Sara snapped at Sofia.  
“And you’re bitchy; as usual. Coffee? For the mood.”  
“Some sleep?”  
“We don’t need this luxury. We can sleep the whole day when we live in a nursing home.”  
“I’m not sure if I want to live in something like that. I don’t think I’ll feel safe there.”  
“You can check the security.” Sofia grinned. “By the way, Misses Lennox didn’t know about the stairs and the basement. She couldn’t remember her father talking about it.”  
“I think that wasn’t her business. Whoever used it before the men made a drug lab out of it, used it as a distillery.” Sara had found several indicator had the basement had been used as an illegal distillery. If Misses Lennox’ father had used it, he didn’t his daughter to know.   
“It’s not a woman’s business what her husband or father is doing. A woman has to care about the kitchen.”  
“Is that right, detective?” Sara was amused.   
“Absolutely. And the earth is a disc.” Sofia grinned. “Come on, let’s make two guys very uncomfortable. I’m sure you’ve got as many questions as I have.”  
“I’d love to listen to a spooky story.”  
“When you get the creeps, I’ll take care of you, baby.”  
“Baby? Save your smug and arrogant attitude for the guys, detective megalomania.” Sara bopped Sofia and walked to the interrogation room. They would start with Stuart Milton as he seemed to was more often around the house and was a friend of the deceased father.   
“Mister Milton, I’m glad that could come along. We looked for you and we were gone, I started to worry about you.” Sofia let herself drop on the chair right in front of her suspect. The young man looked at her without saying a word.   
“Oh, excuse my manner. I’m detective Curtis, that’s Miss Sidle with the crime lab. We spent some time admiring your work in the last couple of weeks.”  
The man still didn’t say a word.   
“A silent man. Did he ask for a lawyer?” Sofia looked at eh officer, who had been in the room.  
“No detective.”  
“In that case he could talk to us. Don’t you want to tell us something? If you don’t want to talk about the drug lab, I’m fine with that. I’m more interested in the ghost story. Really spooky. It must have been quite a hard job to keep this story alive for over – what is it? – twenty years. You do have patience. Not for your other jobs, you changed them quite often but then again, you didn’t need them. But I bet working in a fast food restaurant is a good opportunity to find new – let’s call them not user – clients.”  
“He doesn’t want to talk to you, detective.” Sara said.   
“Would you prefer to talk to Miss Sidle? It would break my heart I’d find a way to handle it, I promise.”  
“Shut the fuck up.” He snarled.   
“Not very polite.”  
“Maybe he’s more a listener. Okay, let me tell you a story, if you want you can edit or correct it whenever you think it’s necessary.” Sara leaned back. “You and the old man of Misses Lennox were friends, he spent a lot of time with you, teaching you all kind of things. Like how to make your own fireworks. I bet he told you things while you were sitting around, drinking and smoking, he didn’t tell his daughter. Like about the basement. He made his own alcohol in there, didn’t he? You knew where the entrance was, you probably even knew how to make your own alcohol but I don’t understand why you killed him. What was your reason?”  
“I didn’t kill the old Deeds.”  
“Did Gordon kill him?”  
“The old drunk killed himself. After what happened to his brother, he blamed himself for his death and hung himself.” That was exactly what Misses Lennox had told them – but the old lady believed also in ghosts. It was impossible to prove that Mister Deeds was murdered or committed suicide.   
“What about Barney Lennox? Misses Lennox blames the ghost to be the murderer of her husband, the same for her father. You and your friend are the ghost, there’s no need to discuss that.”  
Stuart Milton blew a raspberry.   
“I bet he was in your way.” Sofia said with a smile. “His father-in-law was out of his way, he was the new man in the house. He wanted to change things. No more free alcohol for you, no more place to hang out. Plus, it was an old house at the time, I bet he wanted to renovate it. A few new walls and the little secret of the basement was gone. You couldn’t let him do that, could you? You had taken over the distillery and had plans to make even more out of it. The perfect place for a drug lab, nobody knew about the basement, only you.   
How did you kill him? How did you do it that it looked like a heart attack?”  
“When you’re so smart, you tell me, detective.”  
“There was no medical examination of the body. Poison? I bet you know how to mix some lovely deadly drinks, you had a key to the house or no problem to enter it. Pour it in his bottle of bourbon or whatever he used to drink and wait. Or a soother in Misses Lennox tea, make her sleep very deep and kill her husband. Suffocation? Something that didn’t leave marks.”  
“And your evidence is where, detective?”  
“I can order to dig the body out and let it examine.”  
“You wouldn’t find anything. It’s been twenty years.”  
“You’ve no idea what our ME can find. But I’m fine with getting you for the murder of Casper White, Tim Hart and Ben Benson. Three times, that’s the dead penalty.”  
“You’ve got nothing that connects me with these murders.”  
“Let me see: you had a key to the house, probably still have. You spent a lot of time in the basement, working in your drug lab. You know, you had to leave your place in case somebody buys the house. You couldn’t buy it yourself, too much attention and people would connect you with the house.   
Lucky for you Misses Lennox really believes in the ghost and isn’t tired of telling everybody a ghost lives in her house and kills people. She blames her uncle Sam to be the ghost, by the way. She wasn’t a thread for you, you visited her once a week with her groceries, when she heard something coming from underneath the house, she blamed the ghost without wasting another thought. She wasn’t in your way, she kept the house free for you. It was more difficult when she moved to the nursing home. She wanted to sell the house, you had to scare interested parties away.   
Unfortunately Casper White wanted the house because it was supposed to be cursed and a ghost lived there. He wanted to make money with that. Many people in your house, sooner or later a renovation, bang, your lab is in danger again. How did you manage to scare him that much that he died of fear?”  
“People don’t die of fear.”  
“As a matter of fact they do.” Sara told him. “If the heart is shocked by too much adrenaline that the body can release when it’s scared. Usually that happens to elderly people. So, you did you manage to kill a forty something man by fear?”  
“It’s amazing how many people talk about ghosts, try to make money with them, tell everybody they know everything about ghosts. You show them a ghost and react like a baby. Add some drugs and you’ll have a man who died of fear.”  
“Drugs?” The tox report came back negative.  
“We knew there’d be a medical examination, we didn’t give the idiot anything you were going to find. Plus we let him in the house for a few days.”  
“You were in the house, got the attention of the jogger.”  
“You think we want a stinking body in the house? Another victim of the ghost, we figured with that and the message to the old bitch, there weren’t any other potential buyer.”  
“There was no trace of a human in the house. How could you leave the body in the room?” Sofia asked. “All the dust.”  
“They had special shoes.” Sara smiled. She had found something in the lab she couldn’t figure out what it was for in the first moment. “A piece of wood and under it over one hundred little needles. It’s like gliding above the dust. The marks you leave are so tiny, almost impossible to spot.”  
“Ghosts don’t leave traces.”  
“But they do know how to break into a room of an old woman, how to scare her with a piece of paper that apparently will burn itself and they can disconnect the right wire to enable the alarm of an emergency door. Ghosts are real all-round talents nowadays.”   
“You still don’t have any evidence that I killed anybody.”  
“We knew there’d be a medical examination, we didn’t give the idiot anything, you were going to find. Plus we left him in the house for a few days.” Sofia repeated Stuart Milton’s words. “Sounds like a perfect confession to me. And you also told us that you weren’t alone, you said we. We like Gordon Albright, your kindergarten friend as your accomplice.”   
He shot Sofia an angry look.   
“So would you like us to go on telling you what happened or do you want to listen and get your dead penalty? Dying or living in a prison, pick your favorite, Little Stuart.”  
“You ever call me that again and I’ll kill you with ma bare hands.”  
“Threatening a detective, another little plus for your rap sheet. Wonderful. Little Stuart, personal I Prefer Stuart Little, like the small mouse…” Sofia had to act fast when the man jumped over the table to grab her throat. Sara could push him in his flight a little bit so that he missed Sofia and ended up half on the table, half on the floor.   
Before the officer could do anything Sofia had her cuffs out and restrained the angry man. “Now you’ll stay here a little bit longer. I think we’ll make a break and talk with Little Stuart later. He needs to calm down a bit.”  
“You slut, you…”  
“I’ll add all these things, Little Stuart, you may go on and I’ll can put you in a cage for a long, long time before they’ll send you to death. You’ll find a lot of boyfriends in prison, like Gordi.” Sofia smiled and left the room.   
Sara followed her with one last look at the swearing man who tried to fight the office, who got some help from another officer.   
“You alright?” Sara asked when they stopped in front of a vending machine and Sofia got them both coffee.  
“Yeah. Thanks for pushing. He might have reached me otherwise.”  
“My pleasure. The next time you plan to make a suspect snap, tell me in advance and I know what will happen. I prefer to be prepared for jumping suspects.”  
“I didn’t plan that but when he reacted that angry of his pet name, I thought, I can use it. He was right, we don’t have much on him, after the last two minutes we’ve got enough to hold him for a while.”  
“And the bad ass cop strikes again.”  
“You like me being the bad ass cop, don’t you?”  
“Suits you. Ever thought of going to Hollywood? They could use you as a Bond girl – the bad one.”  
“Can I pick my James Bond?”  
“I’m afraid you’ve to take what they offer you.”  
“In that case I might refuse. Anyway, I want to be the female version of James Bond, I want to have to cool car, all the toys and – well I’ve got the smug smile. My name is Curtis, Sofia Curtis. Wanna be my Curtis girl?”  
“I’d rather be M and tell you off. Come, double o nothing, let’s talk to the next suspect. We’ve got two more murder to solve.”  
“Alright, Moneypenny.”  
“M.”  
“You will never be my boss, Sara.”  
“I wouldn’t beg on that, Sofia.” Sara smirked. She was glad she had reacted fast enough to push Stuart Milton away from Sofia and that the blonde had reacted fast enough to move away from the table. Hopefully Gordon Albright didn’t have this temper and was more interested in saving his life.   
Gordon Albright was tall, almost seven foot. Sofia wondered how me managed to walk through the tunnel all these years. The tunnel was not higher than six foot, it must have been difficult for Albright.   
“Mister Albright, how are you? I’m detective Curtis, that Miss Sidle with the crime lab.”  
“Where’s Stuart?”  
“Oh, he is a little bit engaged at the moment. He told us that you drugged Casper White.”  
“Who?”  
“The first victim, three weeks ago.”  
“Bullshit.”  
“You drugged him, left him in the house and used the ghost story to get the attention of a runner. Your nail shoes, really great work. Like using drugs we can’t find in the system. See, Mister Milton told us that, unfortunately after that, he was really on his best way not to end up with the dead penalty, he screwed up and attacked an officer.   
But enough of your kindergarten friend, Mister Albright. Would you like to live a little bit longer or do you want to get send to court for three murders? Or maybe four, we’re thinking of digging old Mister Lennox up and examine him. His death doesn’t look like a heart attack to me and we’d really like to know how you guys killed him. I mean, twenty years ago, you were both not even twenty.   
So, you’d like us to tell you what happened to Mister Hart and Mister Benson – that are the last two victims in case you don’t know their names – or would you rather talk and save your life? It’s up to you.”  
“Fuck you, I’m not a rat.”  
“Why is everybody insulting me today?” Sofia asked Sara.   
“They just don’t see your lovely personality, detective.” She turned to Gordon Albright. “Mister Albright, we don’t need you as a rat, we’ve got a confession from Mister Milton. A confession he made for both of you by saying that you killed Casper White.   
Now, we’ve got evidence, we’ve got your prints all over the drug lab under the house of Misses Lennox, there are officers and CSI searching your house, they’ll find even more evidence against you, you will never be a free man again. What we do is, we offer you the chance not to end up with the death penalty. You tell us about the last two victims and we’ll make sure you’ll live. Your life for a story, it can be the story of your life.”  
“All you want is to fuck me over with what I say.”  
“You fucked yourself over, we don’t have to do that for you. I was in the drug lab, I found a rope, the same rope that was used to hang Tim Hart. I’ll look for DNA, all I need is a tiny piece of your skin to prove, you killed the man. The gun you killed Ben Benson with? We find it in your house or in Miltons, we have the prove you killed him too. Fingerprints on the message you wrote Misses Lennox. The old lady really believed your ghost story, she believed the paper would burn itself, but she couldn’t burn the second message and I got it out of the drain.   
Again, would you like us to tell you what we think what happened or do you want to save your life and tell us what happened?”  
“The old bitch wasn’t supposed to sell the house. We told her not to do so.”  
“She was more than willing to do what you wanted, but Benson found out that with every body the house got more valuable.”  
“Stupid motherfucker. He deserved the bullet.” There was their next confession.   
“What was about Tim Hart?”  
“He wanted to buy the house, wanted to destroy our life. We slipped him something and hung him. Like the old Deeds, the ghost likes the same deaths.”  
“You killed Deeds too?”  
“Hell no, the idiot hung himself because he killed his brother. Said his brother would visit him every night, telling him, it was his fault that he fell. He went crazy, told everybody about the ghost and hung himself. We simply used his story.”  
Stu had told me about the basement, we went there a few times with Deeds, had some drinks. He was a really cool guy, taught us a lot about chemicals, how to make some pills, some alcohol, he even showed us his pot. Said, a man works hard, he need something to please himself when there are no women around to do so. We thought the plants are too risky, they need too much light.”  
“Talking about light, where did you get the electricity from? There was none in the house.” Sofia asked.  
“From Stu’s parents. We pretended a few days to walk down to the Lennox’ and back, had some tools with us because we wanted to help them in the garden. At least Stu’s parents thought so. That way we laid a cable. Old Deeds used a transformer, that was too loud and big for us, we got rid off that thing and used the cable. No need to worry about the transformer, that anybody would find it and no work, Stu’s parents paid the bill.”  
“You are really clever.”   
“We knew Deeds hadn’t told anybody about the basement, his old man built it and told him when he was about to die. Deeds used it for his hobbies and to be away from his family. We had some really great hours with the old man.”  
“Is that why you didn’t kill his daughter?”  
“Mrs. L.? She was so into the ghost story, she was handy. She sent everybody away as soon as it got dark, she blamed every sound on the ghost, we had a safe place thanks to her.”  
“Until she moved.”  
“Stupid bitch, we brought her everything she needed ones a week. And then this idea of selling her house. For a while we thought about buying it, but that would have made too much fuzz.”  
“You could have used a lawyer and buy it under another name.”  
“Nobody was interested in it, we were fine. Until the Casper showed up and wanted to make a motel out of it. A ghost motel. How nuts do you have to be to believe in something like that?”  
“People believe in all kinds of things.”  
“Yeah.”  
“So after it was clear Benson wanted to sell the house you got rid off him.”  
“Yeah. We found an old gun, Mister Deeds used to shot with it back in the days. The perfect weapon.”  
“You killed three people only to keep your drug lab a secret.” Sara said soundless.  
“Yeah, and? There’re too many people on this planet anyway. We did us all a favor.” 

“This is definitive one of the more unusual cases I’ve had so far.” Sara said when she and Sofia were back in the break room.   
“Yeah, scary what people do and how they justify their actions.” Sofia got another coffee. “Do you go on working tonight or will you have a night off?”  
“Grissom offered me a free night, I didn’t take it. I asked for a free night on Saturday.”  
“You asked for a night off? Did he lost his consciousness?”  
“Kind of.” Sara laughed.   
“I could ask you if you’ve got a hot date that you need a day of and you’ll snap at me, tell me to shut up and mind my own business.” Sofia grinned.  
“Yes.”  
“I love that you are so predictable, Sara. So I won’t ask and leave you alone, our shifts will start in one hours, no need to go home. We can to straight to the next cases. I see you around. Maybe tonight, maybe another night.”  
“Yeah, see you.” Sara thought for a moment. “Sofia?”  
The blonde was almost out of the room. “Yeah?”  
“I enjoyed chasing ghosts with you. But I hope you don’t believe in them anymore.”  
“I do believe in supernatural things, Sara, but I’m more scared of your moods.” The blonde grinned wide. “See you around, Moneypenny.”  
“It’s still M, double o nothing.” Sara shook her head. Yeah she could enjoy another night with Sofia. If they got a case together tonight Sara would invite the detective to breakfast in the morning and when she was in a very good mood, she’d even invite Sofia to one of her famous egg burger. 

Epilog

Sara had thought the look in Grissom’s face when she asked for a night off was priceless but being here was even better. Why hadn’t she found out earlier that there was an eighties and nineties party every two weeks? These parties were the best party she had ever visit.   
It was after midnight, she had been drinking a few cocktails but this time there was a glass of water after each cocktail because she hated it when she woke up in the middle of the night and her throat was dry and she felt much better when she spend her night like this. Through all the dancing she lost a lot water and didn’t get it back with Swimming Pools. Plus she saved some money without losing any fun.   
What a night and the party had just got started. She had deserved this night off, she deserved some fun and she would get this fun. She wasn’t sure how and what kind of fun exactly but she would make damn sure that she’d wake up in the later afternoon with a smile on her face and a night to remember.   
“Stop looking for someone, I’m here. Let’s go home.”   
Sara’s hairs got up when the voice came into her ears. She felt lips on her earlobe and two hands around her hips. She was in the middle of the dance floor, dozen of people all around her but she knew who was behind her. Even without haven’t seen this person here tonight.   
“That won’t happen.” She answered without turning.  
“Why? You want it too.”  
“Says who?”   
“Your body.”  
That was true. She could feel the goose bumps all over her body. All these tensions were too much, she couldn’t fight them and she wasn’t sure if she wanted to fight them. Her head said she had to, her body told her to let loose.   
“Your hair is up, your breath is faster, you shivered when I talk, you’re trembling with anticipation. You want me, Sara, don’t lie to yourself. And don’t waste time lying to me when I can see that you’re lying.”  
“Sometimes the body has to do what the mind says. I’ve got a brain to think with.”  
“Don’t overthink everything.”  
“That’s better than not thinking at all.” Or with the wrong parts of the body. She wasn’t an animal, she was a human. She had a brain to use it.   
“You have to let loose sometimes. Do what you feel you want to do.”  
“You think.”  
“I know.” Lips were on her neck, softly running down without kissing her. The light breath made her shiver even more and made it much harder to concentrate and not letting go.   
“Come on, you know you won’t regret it.”  
“Don’t be so smug and don’t overrate yourself.”  
“Tell me you didn’t enjoy it the last time and I’ll be gone.”  
Sara hushed. That would be a lie, she enjoyed it. She enjoyed it maybe too much.   
“See, there’s no reason not to go.”  
“There are. Actually there are three. For you.”  
“I don’t think so.”  
“I know so.”  
“Tell me.”  
“First: it’s not my place it will be yours.”  
“That’s a violation of rule number one.”   
Sara smiled a bit. As she said, three reasons why she’d stay here and not go.  
“Second: you’ll make breakfast for me.”  
“Violation of rule number two.”  
“I know. I guess that’s enough for you to be no more longer interested.”  
“You think you can scare me away that easy? Try harder, Sara.”  
“Alright, number three will make you take off within a second: I don’t do affairs. I do one night stands, we had a one night stand. Coming with you tonight would break the one night stand and lead into an affair. There won’t be any affairs with me. Going home with you will mean, we won’t have a one night stand, we won’t have an affair, we’ll have a relationship. No more hunting on the dance floor, no more games, no more freedom. The no bounds and no strings attached thing is over after the second night. Think about it, think hard if you want to give up all your freedom for another one night stand.”  
“I could tell you I’m alright with this and leave you anyway in the morning, don’t stop doing all these things you want me to stop. There’s no way you can stop me from going out and leaving with anybody else. I can tell you you’ll get whatever you ask for and won’t do it.”  
“Yes you can do that but you won’t. You don’t break a promise you made to me. That’s not your style, Sofia.” Sara turned and looked straight into Sofia’s eyes. The blonde was still very close to her, in her personal space and her ice blue eyes were deep blue and full of lust.   
“So, what’s your pick?”  
“Don’t you like compromises?”  
“I hate them.” Sara turned. She knew Sofia would lose her interested after that. It was true Sara enjoyed that night two weeks ago, it was full of passion, it was full of pleasure. She had wanted somebody for one night to give her some pleasure, she got what she wanted. There had been no problem for her that this person who gave her the pleasure had been Sofia. The blonde was sexy, she was daring, she was a challenge and Sara knew, there would be no problems after this night because Sofia wanted the same she wanted. They had worked together like the night had never happened but if they’d repeat this night, it wasn’t a one night stand anymore, there would be something between them and that would bring too many problems for their work.   
It wasn’t a question of another one night stand, there was no second first time, there was the question between all or nothing. Could she imagine to have more than a friendship with the detective? She wasn’t sure. Sara liked partners with a high level of intelligence, that was the thing that had attracted her to Grissom. She needed somebody who could stimulate her mentally, Sofia could do that, she was damn smart. She also needed somebody who could give her emotional safety, emotional closeness without compressing her. Grissom couldn’t give her this, he was emotional not strong enough to give her this that’s why it hadn’t worked out between them. Was Sofia the person who could do that?   
Hands on her waist stopped her from going away.  
“Would you listen to the compromises I can offer you?”  
“Okay.” Fair enough but they were better damn good to make her change her mind.  
“First: It will be your place, there are two pets waiting for you, I don’t like it when animals are left home alone and get hungry in the morning or need to go out and nobody is there to let them out. It’s not fair leaving them for a long time alone, they have to cope with that when you’re working.”  
Alright that was an argument Sara could accept. The well-being of her pets was important to her. If she’d go and stay with Sofia, Gata and Perro would be home alone for a long time and they wanted their breakfast in the morning. When Sara was working a neighbor child took care of them, walked Gata for half an hour.   
“Second: I’ll make breakfast but we’ll have it in bed.”  
That sounded like holiday. Sara was more than fine with that one even it wouldn’t be a big breakfast because her fridge was quite empty.  
“Third and the for you most important point. I don’t know if it will work out between us but if we give it a try I don’t want the whole department to know about it. I prefer to keep my private life private, especially when I don’t know what will happen. I don’t need a dozen cops making stupid comments about us in case it doesn’t work out. That’s a thing between us; at least until we’ve found out if we match and it works between us.  
That are my compromises I offer. What do you say?”  
Sara turned and opened her eyes. She had enjoyed Sofia’s breath on her neck with closed eyes and had focused on the blonde’s hands on her waist, her lips so close to Sara’s earlobe and the words she had heard.   
Sara’s lips brushed slightly over Sofias, making the blonde losing her balance for a second. She hadn’t have Sara’s lips on hers, they had never kissed. No kissing on a one night stand. Something they had both agreed on.   
“Let’s go home.”

“There was no reason for the number three after a taste of your lips.” Sofia kissed Sara again.   
“Why?”  
“I’m already addicted to your lips, there’s no way I’ll let my lips be anywhere than on yours. I’m sorry if you want them anywhere else, they’ll stay here the whole night.” She even managed not to take her lips from Saras while she was talking. So good. She loved the sweet taste of the brunette, she was addicted to the tongue, playing with her own, couldn’t get enough of feeling Sara’s lips on hers.   
“I thought you’re there to serve, servant.”  
“No compromise on this one, Sara.” Sofia lowered her head for another long kiss while her hands run over and over Sara’s body. Daring, tempting but nothing would get her away from these lips.   
“Really?” Sara’s left hand vanished between Sofia’s legs and a second later the blonde was moaning and groaning.   
“Really.” Sofia got her hand between Sara’s tights and started to move it similar to Sara.   
“You’re going to blow my mind away again?”  
“I won’t blow but I’ll let you lose it, don’t worry.” She pressed her lips on Saras to soften another groan. 

“You know what will be really difficult?” Sofia asked ten minutes later when she could talk again.   
“What?” Sara was caressing her lover’s back and got lost in Sofia’s eyes while the blonde laid lazy on her side, watching Sara.   
“Work.”  
“We managed it the last time quite good and now we know what we want.”  
“We knew that before too. I mean something else.”  
“What?”  
“The next time you’ll tell me to fuck myself when we’re out on a case and I piss you off, it will be hard not to answer that I’ve got you to do that.” Sofia started laughing.  
“Stupid bitch.” Sara had to laugh too and pulled Sofia in her arms.   
“I could take the insults now personal and take them in our relationship.”  
“Sofia, you know I don’t mean to insult you.”  
“I know I just piss you off all the time. That will be an interesting relationship.”  
“You could stop annoying me then I don’t have to insult you anymore.”  
“There would be no fun for me if I’d do that. I love teasing you.”   
“It’s your way of flirting.”  
“When you knew that all the time why didn’t you respond to it? Why did I have to wait until I met you by surprise at a party, being lucky that you were looking for someone to get laid? You could have told me before.”  
“Who said it was you I was looking for?”  
“Your respond of what I did to you.”  
“Smug bitch. Arrogant, narcissistic, snotty…”  
“You’re doing it again, Sara. You’re insulting me.”  
“It’s not an insult, it’s called being honest.”  
“Skip being honest and lie to me. Tell me how wonderful I am, how much you adore me, love the time we spend together, adore my magnificent body.”  
“I like your sharp mind.”  
“My long legs? Hot curves? Blond hair? Husky voice?”  
“Do you always reduce yourself on your body?”  
“My body isn’t a reduction. It’s a temple.”  
“I hope you stop having people coming along worth shipping the temple.”  
“It’s closed for the public, open only to my favorite disciple.”  
“You better have only one and not twelve and you better don’t use your temple for business.”  
“We’ve got a contract, I’ll keep my part.”  
“A contract? Sounds really romantic.” Sara rolled her eyes.   
“Now you want a romance? That wasn’t part of the deal.”  
“Maybe a second one night stand is the better alternative. I’m not sure this will work out otherwise.”  
“I am.” Sofia moved herself on top of Sara and kissed her throat. “And if you wouldn’t know that you can trust me, I wouldn’t be here. But to make it clear and official: Sara, I won’t sleep with anybody else than you. I don’t fool around in relationships. It would be particular stupid to fool around in ours, we work together. If we ever have to go separate ways, we have to do that as smooth as possible to make it not impossible to work together.   
Second, I don’t use and never have used my body to get a better job or anything else except a partner for my bed or a relationship. If I want a better job, more money or anything else like that, I’ll work harder and earn it. You didn’t sleep with Grissom to get a promotion, did you?”  
Why the hell did Sofia know that? Who told her? They had told nobody, how was it possible that the blonde knew about these months with Grissom?   
“Come on, Sara, I’m a detective and was a CSI, I’m not blind and – as you mentioned – I am not stupid, I knew there was something going on between you and Grissom.”  
“It’s over.”  
“I know that too. Otherwise I wouldn’t be here. I don’t mess around in relationships. And I don’t have relationships with somebody who’s still attached to their ex. You and Grissom are friends, that’s fine, everything else would be stupid, you’re not a stupid person. Neither is Grissom.”  
“How did you find out?”  
“It was in your smile, in your eyes when you talked about and with Grissom.”  
“Nobody else noticed.”  
“The other don’t watch you like I did, they don’t pay attention to little things about you, I did. I was interested in you for a long time.”  
“It looks like. You never said anything.”  
“I don’t like to be pushed away and that’s what you would have done if I’d said anything.”  
Sara knew that was true. A few weeks earlier and Sara would have turned Sofia down, in fact, she might have been very pissed off. Something had changed, she didn’t know what, but something had changed.


End file.
